The days of receiving ticketless council parking fines in NSW are to end thanks to new directions from the Labor state government.
Half of all fines processed by Revenue NSW are reportedly council parking fines, with 48 councils issuing ticketless fines including the Tweed, Ballina and Lismore local government areas (LGAs).
Some councils have abandoned the use of on-the-spot paper fines altogtether.
The former coalition state government introduced the ticketless scheme as a trial in May 2020 before expanding it to more councils in December 2020.
Local governments included in the scheme can lodge parking infringements directly with Revenue NSW, along with photographic evidence, rather than by leaving a ticket on the offending car.
Drivers are in most cases unaware they’ve received a fine until it arrives by mail or the Service NSW app.
NSW Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos says the scheme has eroded trust in the state’s parking fine system.
Minister pushes for photographic evidence in parking fines
The minister on Sunday issued a media release saying she’d written to all 128 councils across the state asking them to return to the practice of issuing on-the-spot written notifications, such as small pre-printed cards left on the windscreen.
While leaving a note isn’t mandatory under state regulations, the minister says drivers who know they’ve been booked may want to collect evidence such as photos and details of where they parked in case they want to seek a review.
‘This note does not necessarily need to form part of the infringement notice but at a minimum it should inform the driver they will soon receive an infringement notice via post or the Service NSW app,’ Ms Houssos wrote in her letter, included in Sunday’s media release.
The minister also requested councils using ticketless fines to review processes to make sure photographic evidence is captured and sent to Revenue NSW.
Lismore council issues nearly $130K in ticketless parking fines
Concerns were also raised about the timeliness of notifications to drivers, with some people said to have received multiple ticketless fines before being told.
The scheme is further accused of having a reduced impact in terms of immediate parking offence deterrence and driver behaviour influence.
On the Northern Rivers, the Lismore City Council is recorded as issuing the most ticketless parking fines in 2023 at 898, followed by the Ballina Shire Council at 473 and the Tweed Shire Council at two.
Ticketless fines in the Lismore LGA were valued at more than $127,000.
The local figures paled in comparison to some metropolitan councils, where fines in the tens of thousands were recorded.
The North Sydney Council issued 52,251 ticketless fines, for example.
The Byron Shire Council wasn’t included in the list.
No more councils to join ticketless fine system
The 80 local governments not already participating in the ticketless parking fine scheme are to be prevented from doing so, with the minister saying she’s written to them to advise they won’t gain access while Revenue NSW carries out more consultation.
‘The NSW Government understands that local councils are concerned about the safety of infringement officers from abuse and aggression when issuing tickets,’ Ms Houssos said.
‘Infringement notices are already issued in-person by officers using a digital device and requires them to take photos as evidence for inclusion with the posted fine,’ she said.
The minister also referred to a ‘series of parking facilities’ under state government operation using ticketless fines, saying she would write to the relevant issuing authorities to convey similar concerns.
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