Mansfield Shire Council in Victoria has admitted that they may overcharged drivers on parking fines for years, after uncovering a long-running “administrative issue” that may have affected hundreds of motorists.
For years, the council had been operating under the information that the Road Safety Act 1986 allows local government officers to charge between 0.2 and 0.5 penalty units (around $41.00 and $102.00 respectively) for 11 specific categories of parking infringements.
Councils must formally vote to apply the higher rate, which the Victorian council failed to do.
The oversight dates back to 17 years ago, from 2009, according to the council.
“Unfortunately, the need for a formal resolution was not adequately communicated to councils in Victoria in 2009 or in 2019 when the guidelines were changed,” the council wrote on their website.
Around 765 fines may have been affected, with an estimated $34,588 collected above the default rate.
Extra costs including late fees and legal charges of up to $10,000 may also be involved.
The council is working to refund motorists who may have been impacted.
“As soon as we’ve become aware of this legacy issue, council has proactively taken the first steps required to make sure we fix things as soon as possible to make them fair and transparent,” Mayor Steve Rabie said.
Drivers who overpaid will be contacted in the coming months.
The mayor apologised for the mistake, saying: “We are not scared to address errors. We’ve identified an issue, and we will fix it.”
“I have every confidence that the current team will work quickly to rectify these legacy issues. We know the community trusts us, and we will work to maintain that trust,” he added.
“If this has affected anybody, we are sorry.”
Mayor Rabie said the situation was disappointing as “it was avoidable”.
“These fines are legitimate fines against legitimate parking infringements,” he said.
“Mansfield Shire Council has not sought to make money on parking fines – we use fines to ensure fair use of parking resources for the community as a whole,” he added.
The mayor also claimed there was poor communication from higher levels of government, saying: “When there are changes to state or federal government policy, and these changes impact local government, they need to be communicated clearly.
“They can’t be hidden in emails unrelated to the change, they can’t be buried deep within one of the hundreds of government gazettes that go out each year.”
More details on the parking infringement refund scheme will be announced once the ongoing investigation is completed.
Image: Shutterstock
