Motorists’ secret suspicions about parking attendants have been all but confirmed after secret internal documents were leaked.
City of Sydney council documents obtained by Seven news have revealed that Inspectors are expected to be ‘highly productive’ and issue fines for a ‘variety of offences’.
Some of the 143 violations for which fines can be issued include stopping at a mailbox in a nature strip, parking a truck with a tray on the sidewalk, while a bad park in your own driveway could cost you $283.
The council has denied that the targets are considered ‘quotas’, but admits that they are ‘targets’ that are updated with monthly productivity reports.
It has been revealed that the City of Sydney Council has given their parking attendants ‘targets’ for issuing parking fines that reflect how ‘highly productive’ they are (pictured)
No other council in NSW came close to matching the amount of parking fines issued by the City of Sydney in 2022-2023.
The city earned a whopping $33 million of the $222 million in parking tickets issued across the state.
Other councils to issue parking fines included Parramatta (nearly $13.3 million) and Liverpool ($3.5 million).
Kate Meller, a Sydney woman, claimed she was fined $644 while parking in a disabled parking spot outside a hospital to help a friend give birth.
“Her water broke, she said, ‘The hospital is taking me now, as soon as you get here I’ll go,’” she told Seven News.
Despite appealing the fine on compassionate grounds, she was denied leniency and was forced to pay the fine.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury called on municipalities to be more transparent about the way they issue fines.
“What you don’t want is for the public to feel like they’re no longer parking attendants, they’re becoming vendors and they’re looking for ways to fine people,” he said.
Among the many parking violations that can lead to a fine include stopping next to a fire hydrant, while a bad parking spot in someone’s own parking lot will cost a driver $283.
The City of Sydney is one of 36 councils in NSW to introduce a ticketless system to distribute fines, instead sending fines via email.
The system has been criticized for shortchanging drivers, as they cannot get proof that they have not committed an offense when they are notified a week later.
The City of Sydney Council claimed that this is so system provided ‘more information about your fine and allows you to make informed decisions’.
“It also improves safety for our rangers, who often face abuse and aggression from the public in the course of their work,” the statement said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the City of Sydney for comment.
The NSW government is investigating how fines are assessed.