A major Australian state has declared a ban on “unfair” parking fines.
New South Wales has passed laws decreeing that all fines issued by inspectors must be paid on the spot with a ticket left in the vehicle and a photograph of the violation, unless it is unsafe to do so.
The goal is to put an end to motorists only finding out about the fine by mail, sometimes weeks after it was issued.
NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos said community response was clear about the move and returning to fines-only was fairer and more transparent.
“No one likes getting a parking ticket. Finding out two weeks later hurts even more,” he said.
“Bringing back on-site reporting of parking tickets is a common-sense reform and restores fairness and integrity to the parking ticket system.
‘I want to thank the local councils who have already started issuing on-site notifications again.
‘There is nothing to stop other councils joining them. It is clearly in the interest of drivers and the community.’
Under new laws, NSW parking inspectors will no longer be able to issue “no fine” fines
Motoring group NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said no fines had “robbed motorists”.
“No-ticket parking leaves motorists in the dark and deprives them of the opportunity to challenge their ticket if they believe they have a legitimate case,” Mr Khoury said.
“The NRMA has been against this approach from day one.”
The new laws also mean that drivers cannot receive repeat tickets, where drivers receive multiple tickets because they are unaware of the original violation.
On-the-spot fines will mean that drivers will not find out about the fines, often weeks after they are issued.
Fine-free parking fines were introduced under former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2020, with more than a third of the state’s 128 councils reportedly adopting the measure.
NSW councils issued more than 820,000 fine-free parking tickets last year, almost 50 per cent more than the previous year.
They obtained 155 million dollars for local governments.