√‘You’ve got mail’: NSW councils adopt sneaky ‘invisible’ parking tickets

First it was sneaky speed cameras, now the latest revenue raiser to hit motorists in NSW are ‘invisible’ parking tickets. Rather than a slipping note under your windscreen wiper, the fine arrives in the mail weeks later.

Almost one-third of council areas in the state of NSW have adopted a controversial plan to scrap parking tickets and instead send the fine in the mail weeks later.

It comes as an increasing number of council parking rangers no longer ‘chalk’ tyres to check parking times, and instead patrol streets in cars equipped with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology.

The sneaky new techniques mean motorists don’t know if their car has been checked – and now also don’t know if it’s been ticketed.

Motoring groups have slammed the rollout of “invisible” parking tickets because it robs the motorist of the opportunity to dispute the fine if, for example, the signage was not clear or the penalty was issued in error.

Councils who have made the switch to “invisible” parking tickets – which means motorists have no idea they’ve been pinged until they get the fine in the mail weeks later – say the new process reduces the risk of enforcement officers being abused, and tickets being lost or damaged due to poor weather.

Figures published by The Daily Telegraph newspaper and Nine News show 36 of 128 council areas across the state have switched to “invisible” parking tickets.

Among the jurisdictions to issue sneaky parking tickets are North Sydney council and Sydney City council.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said drivers who overstay a time limit, park illegally, or don’t pay the parking meter, deserve to be booked.

However, the spokesman noted the absence of a physical parking ticket under the windscreen wiper of a car robbed motorists of the chance to capture photographic evidence to dispute the fine.

“We have heard of cases where people have taken photos of parking signs that have been covered by branches or by other street clutter, and have contested (the ticket) as a result of not having a physical sign,” Mr Khoury told Nine News.

“We’re concerned (the absence of a physical parking ticket) might take that option away.”

The NSW state revenue office said motorists can apply online for a review of a parking ticket.

However, detractors of the new scheme repeated earlier concerns that the lack of a physical ticket robs motorists of the opportunity to take photos and gather evidence – at the time of the alleged offence – in cases where a ticket may have been issued in error.

According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper which broke the story, NSW councils that have adopted “invisible” parking tickets include: