Traffic law in NSW
Parking fines and parking offences in NSW
Most parking fines are not worth fighting, and we will tell you when yours is one of them. But some parking offences carry demerit points, an unpaid fine can end with your licence suspended, and a mobility parking or obstruction matter is a different thing entirely.
Straight answer first
For a single parking fine of a couple of hundred dollars, legal costs will usually exceed the penalty. Request a review yourself, and if that fails, pay it. We would rather tell you that than take the file. Where it is genuinely worth advice is set out below.
Parking offences in New South Wales sit in Part 12 of the Road Rules 2014, and are enforced by council rangers, police and, for some locations, camera. They are dealt with by penalty notice under the Fines Act 1996.
Paying a parking notice does not give you a conviction or a criminal record, and most parking offences carry no demerit points. Some do, though, and those are the ones worth looking at twice. The other problems arise elsewhere: when the fine goes unpaid, when the offence is one of the more serious stopping offences, or when the same driver or business is collecting them repeatedly.
Know your notice
Common parking and stopping offences
The wording on the notice matters, because these are not all treated the same way.
Overstaying or no permit
Exceeding a time limit, parking in a permit zone without a permit, or failing to pay a meter or ticket. The most common notices and the ones least likely to be worth contesting.
Stopping where you must not
No stopping zones, bus stops, bus and transit lanes, loading zones, taxi zones, work zones and clearways. Higher penalties, and in some cases the vehicle can be towed.
Obstructing or unsafe parking
Parking on a footpath or nature strip, across a driveway, too close to an intersection or crossing, on the wrong side of the road, or double parking. Treated more seriously because of the risk created.
Stopping near a school
Offences in school zones attract substantially higher penalties, and councils enforce them actively during drop off and pick up.
Disabled parking space
Parking in a space reserved for a Mobility Parking Scheme permit holder without displaying a valid permit carries one of the highest parking penalties in the state.
Car park charges
A notice from a private operator in a shopping centre car park is not a penalty notice at all. It is a claimed contractual charge, and the recovery process is entirely different.
Which parking offences carry demerit points
Most do not, but several do, and they are the ones people are most surprised by:
- parking in a mobility parking space without a permit
- stopping on or near a pedestrian crossing
- stopping on or near a children’s crossing
- stopping within a short distance of an intersection
If your notice is one of these, the points may matter far more than the money, particularly if you are close to your threshold or on a provisional licence. You can check any offence against the current penalty and point values using the Transport for NSW search offences and penalties tool.
Decide early
Your four options
Every deadline that matters is printed on the notice itself. Read it before you do anything, because most of these options close on the due date.
Pay it
Finalises the matter, with no conviction and no criminal record. Check first whether your offence carries demerit points, because paying is an admission for point purposes. If paying in one sum is difficult, apply for a payment plan or an extension of time rather than letting it default.
Request a review
Free, done in writing, and the right first step if you have grounds. The notice can be withdrawn outright or replaced with a caution.
Nominate another driver
If the vehicle is registered to you but someone else was responsible, or it is a company vehicle, you can nominate the person in charge of it. There is a deadline and a statutory declaration requirement, and failing to nominate correctly carries its own much larger penalty.
Elect to go to court
You give up the fixed penalty and ask a magistrate to decide. This is the option with real upside and real risk, and it is dealt with in full below.
The free option
Requesting a review
A review is decided by the issuing authority, so a council notice goes back to the council and a Revenue NSW notice goes to Revenue NSW. It costs nothing and you can do it yourself online. Grounds that are actually considered include:
- the signage was missing, obscured, contradictory or did not apply to where you were parked
- the vehicle was not there, or the registration number on the notice is wrong
- a valid ticket, permit or Mobility Parking Scheme permit was displayed
- a medical emergency, a breakdown or another genuine and unavoidable circumstance
- an otherwise good record, where a caution may be given instead of a fine
Photographs help more than explanations. If the signage is the issue, photograph it from the driver’s approach, showing what was and was not visible, and do it before the council changes it. If you are relying on a breakdown, keep the tow truck or mechanic’s invoice.
A review that fails does not remove your other options, but it does consume time, so keep an eye on the due date while you wait.
Weigh this carefully
Electing to go to court
Electing to have the matter heard by a court means the penalty notice is withdrawn and the matter proceeds as a prosecution in the Local Court. That has genuine advantages and a genuine cost.
The upside
A magistrate can dismiss the matter under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, which means no penalty at all. A magistrate can also take your circumstances into account in a way a review process cannot.
The risk
You lose the fixed penalty amount. If the offence is proven, the court can impose a fine up to the statutory maximum, which is often higher than the notice, and can order costs against you. A conviction may also be recorded.
For a routine parking fine this rarely stacks up, and we will say so. It is worth considering where the penalty is one of the larger ones, where you have a real defence rather than an explanation, or where a single further offence would tip you into consequences that matter far more than the fine.
The part people underestimate
What happens if you do not pay
Ignoring a parking fine is the single most expensive thing you can do with one. Under the Fines Act 1996 the fine escalates through a sequence, and each step adds cost:
Penalty reminder notice
Issued when the fine is not paid by the due date, with a further period to pay and an additional fee.
Overdue fine
Revenue NSW takes the matter over and adds enforcement costs. Your options narrow sharply at this point.
Licence and registration sanctions
Revenue NSW can suspend your driver licence, cancel your registration and refuse to renew either until the fine is dealt with.
Civil enforcement
Garnishee of wages or bank accounts, a property seizure order, or an examination order requiring you to disclose your finances.
The consequence that catches people is the licence suspension. Driving while suspended for unpaid fines is a separate offence carrying its own disqualification and, on a second occasion, a real risk of imprisonment. A $300 parking fine has become a court matter more than once. See licence offences and driving while disqualified.
If you are in genuine hardship, ask about a Work and Development Order, which allows the fine to be cleared through unpaid work, treatment, counselling or courses rather than money. Do that before enforcement action starts, not after.
Be honest about it
When it is worth getting advice
Not for a single overstay notice. It is worth a call if any of the following apply:
- your licence has been suspended, or is about to be, because of unpaid fines
- you have been charged with driving while suspended or disqualified arising from fine enforcement
- you run a business or a fleet and are receiving notices repeatedly, or have been asked to nominate drivers
- the notice alleges obstruction, a no stopping offence or misuse of a Mobility Parking Scheme permit, where the penalties are substantial and demerit points may apply
- you have received a penalty for failing to nominate a driver, which is far larger than the underlying parking fine
- you intend to elect to go to court and want to know what you are risking first
- the parking matter sits alongside other traffic charges and needs to be dealt with together
Why Catron Simmons
Why drivers choose us
We have been on the other side
Former prosecutors, former highway patrol officers and qualified breath analysis operators. We know how enforcement works and what will and will not persuade a magistrate.
We will tell you not to bother
If the fine is not worth contesting, we will say so and point you to the free review process. That advice costs you nothing and it is the right answer more often than not.
Fines that have become licence problems
Most of our parking work is not about parking. It is about a suspension, an enforcement order or a driving while suspended charge that started with an unpaid notice.
You deal with a principal
We are a boutique firm. You talk to the solicitor who will appear for you, not a call centre.
Common questions
Parking fines in NSW: your questions answered
Do parking fines carry demerit points?
Most do not, but some do. Demerit points apply to parking in a mobility parking space without a permit, stopping on or near a pedestrian crossing, stopping on or near a children’s crossing, and stopping within a short distance of an intersection. Paying the notice is an admission for demerit point purposes, so check your offence before you pay. Either way, paying does not give you a conviction or a criminal record. You can look up any offence on the Transport for NSW search offences and penalties tool.
The sign was covered by a tree. Is that a defence?
It can be. A parking restriction generally has to be properly signposted to be enforceable, and signage that is missing, obscured or contradictory is one of the most commonly successful grounds on review. Photograph it from the driver’s approach before the council trims the tree.
Can I ignore a fine from a private shopping centre car park?
It is not a penalty notice and it is not enforced by Revenue NSW, so it cannot suspend your licence. It is a claimed contractual charge, and the operator’s only avenue is a civil claim. That does not mean it disappears, and the position depends on the signage and the terms you are said to have accepted. Get advice before deciding to ignore one.
Can an unpaid parking fine really cost me my licence?
Yes. Once a fine becomes overdue, Revenue NSW can suspend your driver licence, cancel your registration and refuse to renew either. Driving while suspended for unpaid fines is then a separate offence with its own disqualification. This is the most common way a small parking fine turns into a court matter.
Someone else was driving my car. What do I do?
Nominate them. The notice sets out the deadline and the form of statutory declaration required. Do not miss it: the penalty for failing to nominate is very substantially larger than the parking fine itself, and it applies to companies as well as individuals.
Is it worth taking a parking fine to court?
Usually not. You give up the fixed penalty, and if the offence is proven the court can impose a larger fine plus costs. It is worth considering where the penalty is one of the higher ones, where you have a genuine defence rather than an explanation, or where the consequences of the fine reach beyond the money.
I cannot afford to pay. What are my options?
Ask about a payment plan or an extension of time before the due date. If you are in genuine hardship, a Work and Development Order allows the fine to be cleared through unpaid work, treatment, counselling or approved courses instead of money. Both are much easier to arrange before enforcement action begins.
Get started
Fines turning into a licence problem? Let’s talk today.
Send us the notice, or the enforcement order if it has gone that far. We will tell you where you stand and whether it is worth doing anything about it.