Council's Parking Officers and Rangers are authorised to take regulatory action where a vehicle has been observed parking illegally. This action may be in the form of a penalty notice or in some instances a Warning Notice. NSW Police have the same powers and may also issue penalty notices for illegally parked vehicles.

 

Parking officers general patrol

• Monday to Friday – 6:00am to 6:00pm
• Saturdays – 8:00am to 4:00pm
• Other hours as may be required to investigate ongoing complaints

Where Council has been made aware of after-hours parking issues, officers may conduct patrols after 6pm to investigate those issues. Similarly on Sundays between 7am & 3pm, requests for parking assistance may be phoned through to Council’s after-hours service on 9330 6400 and a duty Ranger will attend. 

Parking restrictions may be of a statutory type (which apply without specific signage being in place) or sign-posted. In accordance with the Road Rules, all drivers are required to comply with statutory rules and sign-posted parking restrictions. These rules are intended to promote safe driving and parking practices, assist with traffic flow and encourage an equitable use of a limited number of parking spaces

Officers undertake proactive patrols of high traffic areas as well as responding to requests to investigate illegal parking. There are also regular patrols of school zones to provide a deterrent to drivers who may park illegally and create a safety risk to other drivers or school children.

Penalty Notices may either be place on a vehicle at the time or posted. Wherever possible an officer will try to place a penalty notice on a vehicle however in situations including where they are unable to locate legal parking nearby, there is a safety risk or the vehicle has driven off, the penalty notice may be posted.

It is a common misconception that councils are responsible for setting monetary penalty amounts on penalty notices however this is not the case. The amount attached to a penalty notice, and if the penalty notice attracts demerit points, is set by the NSW Government. Offences in school zones generally include higher monetary penalties, than for other offences and many attract demerit points.  Some examples of Penalty Notices and associated penalties are listed below;
 

Disobey no parking sign	$116.00
Stop in loading zone	$194.00
Disobey no stopping sign	$272.00
Disobey no stopping sign (school zone)	$349.00 & 2 demerit points
Stop in disabled parking area	$581.00 & 1 demerit point

Note: These penalty amounts are accurate as at 1 July 2020 and may change after 1 July each year.

 

How to avoid parking penalty notices

Always check the area for signs and familiarise yourself with parking rules. Listed below are some tips to avoid being issued a penalty notice:

• Check to see if there are time limits applicable to where you park or if the signposted parking zone changes at a certain time, such as Clearways and School Zones.
• Pay particular attention around schools to help maintain children’s safety. Police often patrol school zones as well for speeding and other driving offences.  
• No Stopping, Clearway or Bus Zone signposted areas mean you are not permitted to stop at those locations.
• Only park in a Loading Zone if your vehicle is permitted. In NSW sedans are only permitted to stop briefly in Loading Zones if they are picking up or dropping off goods or passengers and only stay for as long as that takes.
• Do not park in a Mobility Parking Scheme (MPS) space unless you are the holder of a valid permit or you are transporting a person with a MPS permit which is correctly displayed on the vehicle.
• Do not park within 10 metres of an intersection unless parking signage advises otherwise.