Coming Soon: Payment for On Street Parking by Smart Phone App

Among the latest in a swathe of legislative reforms impacting the local government sector is the impending commencement of Section 63 Statutes Amendment (Transport Portfolio) Act 2021 (the Amendment Act) and a number of associated regulations.

We are all familiar with the ‘ticket machine’ or ‘parking meter’ synonymous with on street parking. For many years, the only way to pay was cash, specifically coins. The advent of tap and pay and payment by way of various digital apps isn’t that new. In an age when a user can use any number of digital apps to pay for everything from toast to overseas travel, until now councils were generally restricted to collecting parking fees by operation of parking ticket-vending machines or parking meters, which commonly only accept cash or card payments.

Enter the heroes of the day:

• Section 63 of the Amendment Act, which amends of the Section 176(1a)(c) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, to allow regulations to be made to enable councils to fix (or vary) fees for the parking of vehicles within their areas, being fees payable by the operation to parking ticket-vending machines, parking meters, electronic devices (including mobile phones, tablets or any other device of a prescribed kind) or by any electronic method determined by the council; and
• Regulation 5 of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) (Transport Portfolio) Amendment Regulations 2022, which inserts Regulation 66A into the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2014 and will give councils the ability to determine and offer electronic payment for parking fees by way of a device that is built-in or mounted in or on a vehicle, or wearable or portable; and
• Regulation 3 of the Road Traffic (Road Rules—Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Parking) Amendment Regulations 2022 which amends Regulation 22 of the Road Traffic (Road Rules—Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2014 to confirm the signage, purchasing and other practical requirements associated with the use of electronic payments and with which councils will need to comply when establishing electronic payment regimes.

Digital payment by smart phone applications will likely be the first and most widely taken-up method, however the new provisions are worded broadly enough to encompass for example, the use of an e-tag or similar device mounted in or on a vehicle.

These provisions commence operation from Monday 12 December 2022 and are a further example of the law ‘catching-up’ with technology and in doing so offering additional convenience to road users.

For more specific information on any of the material contained in this article or if your council is considering introducing electronic payment for parking fees, please contact Dale Mazzachi on +61 8 8210 1221 or dmazzachi@normans.com.au or Paul Kelly on +61 8 8210 1248 or pkelly@normans.com.au.