2 days ago
Ban on ticketless parking fines takes effect in July, months after NSW law passed
A Sydney man who unknowingly received seven parking fines has hit out at how long a tickletless infringements ban is taking to begin.
More than six months after the Minns government claimed to be ending the "unfair" practice, rangers are still issuing fines without attaching physical notices to vehicles.
Jye Smith learnt this the hard way after being repeatedly stung near his office in Surry Hills.
His rage against the parking machine began mid-last year, when he discovered his vehicle registration had been cancelled due to unpaid infringements.
"After looking into it, it seems I'd acquired seven parking fines having no idea, parking around the corner from work," he said.
He said the penalty notices never arrived in the mail, even though he had updated his address.
"We had no idea that we'd been ticketed, because there were no tickets left on the window.
"I wouldn't have parked for another seven weeks there and accumulated well over $2,000 worth of fines."
The lack of immediate deterrent was one of the main reasons Labor moved to end the ticketless system, which was brought in by the Coalition government during the pandemic.
In March last year, Finance Minister Courtney Houssos requested councils revert to issuing on-the-spot notifications to drivers.
But her polite letter was not enough to sway councils, which were collecting tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue thanks to ticketless fines.
Despite the protests of local authorities, which raised concerns about the safety of rangers, the government passed legislation in November to force compliance.
But the new laws are yet to take effect, with the government having spent months developing regulations specifying the form of the mandated notifications, and other details like the font colour required on certain signs.
The ABC can now reveal the end of the road for ticketless fines is in sight, with the practice finally set to be outlawed on July 1.
"From the 1st of July, if it's not done in accordance with the legislation, those parking fines will be invalid," Ms Houssos said on Thursday.
Asked why the government had taken so long to enliven the ban, the minister said it had introduced "what we thought was a reasonable period" for councils to make the necessary changes.
"But there's nothing stopping councils introducing those notifications immediately today," Ms Houssos added.
The City of Sydney, which raised more than $40 million from ticketless parking fines in 2023-24, said it would not implement the changes until the new financial year.
"Motorists should be aware the current system of paperless fines remains in place until the legislation comes into force on 1 July," a spokesperson for the council said.
Mr Smith said it was a "long time" between the legislation passing and the ban coming into force.
He said it was "obvious" why the City of Sydney had not brought back traditional tickets of its own volition.
"I'm sure they're going to lose a huge source of revenue as this comes in, because this will be a deterrent," he said.
"And I think that's why they're avoiding it, because they know it'll actually stop people from parking there."
