The New South Wales Government is making changes to better inform motorists of when they’ve received a parking fine, after public backlash to its move to a ticketless system – but not everyone is happy with this latest change, either.
In March, it was reported that 48 of the 128 New South Wales councils who had transitioned to a ticketless parking fine system – where motorists who have parked in a space illegally are sent an infringement notice in the mail, rather than an official note on their vehicle – would reintroduce a physical written notification.
This proposed legislation is now being put to State Parliament, and if enacted will see council parking rangers having to attach an on-the-spot notification to a vehicle (which can be as simple as a description of the offence) and take a photo of the offence, among other changes.
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The move back away from ticketless parking fines is being touted as a move to restore trust between the government and motorists, which Premier Chris Minns highlighted when announcing the proposed changes.
“Drivers deserve better than the current system,” said Mr Minns.
“Too many motorists have driven off with no idea they might be liable for a parking fine.
“This system was introduced by the former government without enough protections for drivers. We’re fixing that.”
However, the proposal isn’t without its critics, with Graeme Kelly – general secretary of the United Services Union, which includes council rangers – saying ticketless parking fines better protect rangers from being abused, adding the changes to the laws could lead to physical assaults.
“Everytime a parking inspector is punched, spat on or abused they’ll be able to thank the NSW government for making a difficult situation even more dangerous,” said Mr Kelly in a media statement.
“We’ve had council rangers who’ve been put in comas, had their jaws broken, been spat on and abused with the most foul-mouthed tirades.
“Only a few months ago a man who ran down into a parking ranger in Enmore putting him in a coma for two weeks and leaving him with life-changing brain and spinal injuries was sentenced to almost two years behind bars.
“Parking rangers have a tough job and like every other worker in this state they deserve to go home each day, not end up in a coma in hospital. Ticketless parking allows rangers to avoid dangerous situations.
“We’ve spoken to the government about linking out council fines to the car registration system which means drivers could get a text message within minutes of getting a fine which means they could gather evidence if they wanted to challenge it.
“Councils have invested hundreds of thousands of ratepayers’ dollars in ticketless parking technology and now it’s just going to be junked without compensation.”
In announcing its plans to ditch ticketless parking fines, the New South Wales Government said council rangers “will not be required to leave an on-the-spot notification where it’s unsafe to do so” and that “under existing provisions, assaulting an authorised officer is an aggravating factor to be considered by a court during sentencing”.
Mr Kelly also challenged the New South Wales Government to introduce similar on-the-spot notifications for other driving offences.
“If the government is so concerned about same time notification of fines they need to do the same with speeding fines, and fines for not wearing a seatbelt, or using a mobile phone while driving,” Mr Kelly added.
“And what about the new point-to-point speeding fines on the M1? Are they going to call drivers while they’re on the road to alert them to the fact they’ve just been fined?
“Parking inspectors have a tough job, people love to hate them, and now the state government is looking for a sugar hit to bump up its popularity and is picking on them too and putting them in danger, it’s disgraceful.”
According to the New South Wales Government, 822,310 ticketless parking fines were issued in the 2023/24 financial year, up a significant 49 per cent on the 551,441 fines issued by the system 12 months prior.
Earlier this year, Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos said 45 per cent of all penalty notices issued in NSW last year were for parking infringements, with 55 per cent of those issued by councils using the ticketless parking fine system.
Today, Ms Houssos said the legislation was a failure on all parties, and that the new rules will be fairer for all involved.
“The previous government’s ticketless fine system failed the public – but it also failed council rangers. Robbing drivers of an on-the-spot notification eroded trust in the parking fine system and increased frustration and negativity in the community,” Ms Houssos said in a media statement.
“People who attack and assault parking officers are a minority and should face the full force of the law.
“I acknowledge that like many other frontline workers, parking officers may face challenging situations when interacting with the public. That’s why there is a clear exemption in the legislation to protect parking officers in unsafe situations.
“Our changes provide fairness and transparency to motorists while continuing to ensure the safety of rangers.”
Peter Khoury, spokesman for the NRMA – Australia’s largest motoring club – also welcomed the proposed changes.
“The NRMA commends the NSW Government for addressing the increasingly unpopular ticketless parking fine system adopted by dozens of councils,” Mr Khoury said.
“Motorists who abuse the limited public parking spaces available obviously deserve to be fined, however ticketless parking fines removed transparency and made it almost impossible for motorists to contest their fine if they felt they had a legitimate case.
“The Government’s announcement… can give the public confidence that enforcement will again be open and transparent and we encourage councils to work with the Government on implementing these measures.”
MORE: NSW to make ticketless parking fine U-turn after backlash
