√Legitimate reasons to get out of a parking fine

We chat to councils around Australia about the genuine excuses that could get you off the hook – and list them all below.

Parking fines are an essential evil, but they’re not always issued fairly. Sometimes you can get out of them.

To do that, however, depends on your circumstances – and your supporting evidence. Many parking fines are appealed on shaky grounds and therefore rejected. The barista taking too long to make your coffee won’t quite cut it.

Some reasons, however, are more valid than others – resulting in you successfully appealing your parking fine. In this article, we speak to councils around Australia and a traffic law expert to get the legitimate reasons you could use to successfully appeal a parking fine. As ever, providing solid evidence to support your case is key, and we recommend keeping any written appeal concise, clear and respectful.

Some other things to note: some meters in Australian cities start timing you the second you stop in the bay. Beware if you’re planning a 10-minute Instagram session before getting out of the car – if you’re in a 2P zone, that means you’re only good for an hour and 50 minutes.

Also, each council or revenue agency will have its own appeal process. You can find specific details on the website of the authority that issued you the fine. Some councils, or fine agencies, provide multiple appeal steps, but all lead eventually to court.

When lodging your explanation for why you think your fine should be cancelled, ensure you include your name and address, the infringement or penalty notice number, details of the offence and vehicle registration.

Let’s get to it.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and should be considered a general guide only. Individual circumstances may vary.

The ticket is invalid

Parking rangers make mistakes. If the ticket is invalid due to an error in date, time, location or vehicle registration, you can easily appeal.

Make sure to include any documentation that can support your case.

You paid for parking or were not parked illegally

Did the ticket on the dashboard blow upside down as you shut the car door? Simply accompany a photo of the ticket with your explanation.

Believe you were not parked illegally? You’ll need to prove it.

There was a medical emergency

If you had to park illegally and leave your vehicle due to a medical emergency, you can argue your case, but you’ll need strong written evidence.

“You will need to provide a letter from the hospital or the treating doctor confirming the emergency on the day,” said the City of Melbourne council.

Your car broke down

You can appeal a parking fine if your car broke down and you couldn’t move it. You will need good evidence.

“If your vehicle broke down, you will need to provide an invoice for mechanical or roadside assistance showing the date the repairs were made or a towing invoice, showing the date, time and location,” said the City of Melbourne council.

Another Melbourne council, the City of Yarra, cautioned that any documentary evidence “must be on letterhead, we do check with providers to check the details”.

You have a parking permit

Simply appeal the fine with details of your parking permit including its number, expiry date and issuing council, and a copy of the permit itself.

Monash City Council in Victoria said if you are a recent resident and had not yet received or bought your parking permit that it “may” consider withdrawing the fine. It’s worth trying your luck.

The ticket machine or meter was broken

You’ll have to somehow prove the closest machine was out of order, ideally with images or video.

Even then, if you park in a metered 2P zone, you can still be fined for overstaying the time limit, whether the machine or meter was broken or not.

The road signs and markings were unclear

If an important parking sign was obscured, resulting in your fine, you will need to accompany photos with your appeal.

If your argument is that the signs or road markings were ambiguous, it’s probably harder to argue, but you can try your luck again using photographs and even diagrams.

You are mentally disabled

“If you have a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness or you are seriously addicted to drugs or alcohol, you may apply to have the fine cancelled,” said Legal Aid Victoria.

“These reasons are considered ‘special circumstances’. You will need to show that, because of your condition, you couldn’t understand that your behaviour was against the law or you couldn’t control your conduct.”

If you are mentally disabled, a statement from a general practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse could suffice. If you are suffering from addiction, you can request a statement from your case manager, accredited drug treatment agency or counsellor.

You’re a victim of family violence

You can appeal to have a parking fine overturned if you believe you’re a victim of family violence.

“You must be able to show that at the time of the offence, you were a victim of family violence and that that resulted in you being unable to control the behaviour that led to the fine,” advised Legal Aid Victoria.

“For example, if you receive a fine for a driving offence and you were the driver of the car, you need to show a connection between the family violence and the fine. Another example would be if you received a parking fine for sleeping in your car because it was unsafe to return home.”

You are homeless

You can appeal to have a parking fine overturned if you have nowhere to go.

“You will need to show that because you were homeless, you couldn’t control your conduct that led to the fine,” said Legal Aid Victoria.

“Homelessness can include staying in crisis accommodation, living in transitional housing or sleeping rough,” said the City of Melbourne council

You are suffering other temporary hardship

The NSW Government said you can appeal a parking fine if you are “suffering from a condition, trauma or are experiencing hardship for another reason” and are unable to resolve the fine.

You will need to provide a detailed report from a medical practitioner, support agency or government department.

Someone else was driving the car

If this is the case, you’ll have to nominate them – unless, of course, the car was stolen.

“If the car is registered in your name, you may receive the fine, which you’ll have to pay unless you name the person who was driving at the time,” said Legal Aid Victoria.

“To name the driver, you must complete the formal ‘nomination ’process as set out by the relevant enforcement agency” – which is probably your council, but it could be an authority such as Fines Victoria or Revenue NSW.

You are deceased

If you get a parking fine and pass away shortly after, your family can request the fine to be cancelled.

Any documentary evidence referring to the death should suffice.

Something else altogether

Got an excuse that’s not on this list that you think is reasonable? There’s no harm in making your case to the council or revenue agency.

There are countless other (legitimate) reasons you can appeal a parking fine such as: emergency services directed you to park where you did; the police required your assistance which stopped you from leaving; you made a mistake when entering your registration into a parking payment app or you incorrectly entered your registration into a smart meter.

“Each expiation is treated on an individual basis, where supporting documentation may be required, such as hospital admission forms in the case of a medical emergency,” a City of Adelaide spokesperson told Drive.

What counts as evidence when appealing a parking fine?

You could use any of the following to assist a parking fine appeal:

Parking tickets that were valid at the time of infringement
Any relevant photos or videos
Statements from medical practitioners
Hospital admission or discharge documents
Statements from police
Receipts from a mechanic
Receipts from a towing company
Receipts from a roadside assistance provider
Receipts for new spare parts
Copy of your parking permit, or details
Copy of your disabled parking permit, or details
Death or funeral notices
Bank statements showing credit card payment for parking at the time of the infringement
Information from a parking payment app, such as PayStay, showing you entered the rego details incorrectly
Diagrams that support your explanation

Should I fight my parking fine in court?

If the council or revenue body rejects your appeal (or appeals) and you believe you have a strong case, you could take the parking fine to court. A magistrate could let you off, explains traffic legal expert and Principal of MK Law Marcus Denning.

“Sometimes an accused person who really does feel aggrieved will go into a courtroom self-represented and plead their case,” Denning told Drive. “And because it’s just such a minor issue, and because the magistrates have to deal with 80 or 90 matters per day, they sometimes will just discharge (dismiss) the case. The magistrates just don’t want their time wasted. And they’ll just handle things in the favour of an accused person just to move it on.”

However, you must ask yourself if a day in court – the time and hassle – and the stress and effort leading up to it is worth something like $96 to you.

“It’s usually not worth, on an isolated occasion, to deal with these matters through court because of the waste of time,” said Denning. “You do have a right to contact the council in writing and put that proposition to them and they might consider withdrawing it. But for a one-off event, providing you can stomach the fact that making a payment is an admission of guilt, efficiency should potentially overrule some sort of justice argument.”

As for hitting up a solicitor to help you fight your parking fine, “It’s never worth getting lawyers involved,” said Denning.

Where to get free legal help

If you’re experiencing hardship and need help contesting a parking fine you think was unfairly issued or unlawful, all states and territories offer free legal advisory services. Call any of these numbers below.

NSW – Legal Aid, 1300 888 529

Victoria – Legal Aid, 1300 792 387

Queensland – Legal Aid, 1300 651 188

Western Australia – Legal Aid, 1300 650 579

South Australia – Legal Services, 1300 366 424

Tasmania – Legal Aid, 1300 366 611

ACT – Legal Aid, 1300 654 314

Northern Territory – Legal Aid, 1800 019 343

The post Legitimate reasons to get out of a parking fine appeared first on Drive.