Ticketless parking fines officially out from today

A traditional windscreen parking fine.

Councils can no longer issue ticketless parking fines from today.

It ends years of an unfair system, where hundreds of thousands of fines were issued to motorists as long as two weeks after they were booked by a parking officer.

The revised laws require Councils and those with the authority to issue parking fines to:

• Attach a parking fine or notification to the vehicle (except in limited circumstances, for example where it is unsafe for the parking officer)

• Send to Revenue NSW images of the parking offence and the fine or notification, and make them available to the driver on request

• Issue a parking fine no later than seven days after the offence, if a notification was not attached

• Collate data on their use of parking fines and make it publicly available.

Penrith Council has confirmed it no longer issues ticketless parking fines, except in circumstances where it is legal.

Revenue NSW has established an internal taskforce to monitor implementation of the reforms, ensure compliance by councils, and invalidate fines which do not meet the new legislative requirements.

The taskforce will also monitor exemptions to the requirement to provide an on-the-spot notification to ensure they are not used as an excuse to continue issuing unfair ticketless fines.

“Today marks the end of the previous government’s unfair ticketless parking fine system,” said Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos.

“People shouldn’t be caught by a surprise parking ticket weeks later. Our commonsense changes bring fairness and transparency back to the system.

“Motorists will once again benefit from on-the-spot notifications. New requirements that motorists are provided with photos of the offence will assist them if they wish to object to a fine.

“Our new data requirements will ensure we can keep a close eye on the progress of these reforms.

“I want to thank councils for their work over the last few months to take action on this legislation. I know for many of them it required a significant uplift in their processes to meet the new standards.”

NRMA Spokesperson Peter Khoury welcomed the move.

“The NRMA welcomes the end to ticketless parking fines in NSW and commends the NSW Government for listening to motorists and making this commonsense reform,” he said.

“Transparency matters. People deserve to know when and why they’re being fined—and to have a fair chance to challenge it if needed.

“The Government has worked through the issues, consulted widely, and come to an appropriate solution. Today is a great day for NSW motorists.”

Troy Dodds

Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.

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