Parking infringements

Parking Infringements may be issued if:

• Your vehicle was parked without a valid permit or paid parking (CellOPark or ticket machine payment)
• Your vehicle was parked in a bay other than the type shown on your permit
• Your vehicle was parked outside of a designated parking bay
• You entered your vehicle registration letters or numbers incorrectly
• You overstayed in an e-vehicle 4 hour bay / you weren't actively charging in an e-vehicle bay
• You failed to switch over the “active” vehicle registration within vPermit.

If you get a parking infringement and believe it’s unfair or incorrect, you are encouraged to request a parking infringement review.  This must be done before the payment due date otherwise you may incur late penalty fees. The application must:

• be in writing
• include the infringement number, the grounds for review (see below), and a current postal address
• include relevant documents to support the grounds for review (such as a letter from your doctor, police report or evidence of mechanical breakdown)
• contain a letter or evidence of consent if you are not the registered vehicle owner or is being lodged on behalf of a third party.

The law provides five categories or grounds for a fine to be reviewed. You MUST specify at least one of these categories when requesting a review.

• Contrary to law: you believe an offence did not occur or that the infringement notice is not valid.
• Exceptional circumstances: unforeseen and exceptional circumstances outside your control may excuse the conduct that led to the offence. This could include a medical emergency or a vehicle breakdown.
• Mistake of identity: you believe the fine was issued to the wrong person or vehicle.
• Special circumstances: you had significantly reduced capacity to understand or control the offending behaviour due to a disorder, disease, illness, addiction, homelessness or family violence. See next Section + When should I seek an infringement review?
• Person unaware: you did not receive advice of the infringement because your fine was served by post and you changed your address around the time the fine was issued.

You can request a review in two ways:

• Online via the self-service portal: Infringement Self Service portal (you will be prompted to create an account) once you have received the infringement in the mail.
• Post:  G.P.O Box 425 Melbourne VIC 3001

NOTE: You must provide a postal address when requesting a review. It is a requirement under the Infringement Act 2006 that the review decision be mailed to a postal address.

You may contact 9058 6636 for further information about the appeal process.

A person who has received an infringement notice can apply for a La Trobe University internal review (sometimes referred to as an appeal). They can also authorise another person to make an application for an internal review on their behalf.

An application for an internal  review can be made at any time before the offence is registered with Fines Victoria, or before the expiry of the period for bringing a proceeding to Court in relation to the offence.

Only one application for an internal review can be made regarding any one infringement offence per the Infringement Act 2006.

Internal reviews can take up to 90 days (or longer if we need further information from you).  If you have already submitted an internal review your infringement will be placed 'on hold' and not incur further penalty fees. You do not need to take any other action until you receive our response.

The law provides five categories or grounds for a fine to be reviewed. You MUST specify at least one of these categories when requesting a review.

• Contrary to law: you believe an offence did not occur or that the infringement notice is not valid.
• Exceptional circumstances: unforeseen and exceptional circumstances outside your control may excuse the conduct that led to the offence. This could include a medical emergency or a vehicle breakdown.
• Mistake of identity: you believe the fine was issued to the wrong person or vehicle.
• Special circumstances: you had significantly reduced capacity to understand or control the offending behaviour due to a disorder, disease, illness, addiction, homelessness or family violence. See below Special circumstances reviews.
• Person unaware: you did not receive advice of the infringement because your fine was served by post and you changed your address around the time the fine was issued.

Special circumstances reviews

Special circumstances are defined by the Infringement Act 2006 and relate to:

• A person with a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness, a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol which results in a person being unable to understand the offending conduct or unable to control the conduct.
• Homelessness, where the homelessness results in the person being unable to control the offending conduct.
• Family violence, where the applicants' circumstances involving family violence resulted in the applicant's inability to control the conduct constituting the offence.

You will need to provide evidence from a qualified practitioner or agency to support your application. For more information on what is required and how to apply, see: Special Circumstances.

You can pay online via the self-service portal: Infringement Self Service portal.  Have your Notice handy as you’ll need the Infringement Number and Offence Date.

A full list of payment methods can also be found on the infringement notice.

Parking infringements are mailed out to the address associated with the vehicle registration and are no longer printed on paper and placed on vehicle windscreens. This aligns with the parking infringement system requirements in Victoria, which is highly regulated.

You may however receive a Parking Notification on your windscreen which acts as a forewarning that an infringement may be issued based on evidence gathered.

You can nominate another driver or request a court hearing online via the self-service portal: Infringement Self Service portal.

Click here to access the Nomination (pdf) form, fill in the required details and upload to the self service portal.

Remember to include the infringement number and your vehicle registration number in the top right-hand corner of the form.