More than 17,400 parking fines could be overturned after a follow-up Victorian Ombudsman report identified a further five Councils, a university and an Agency had outsourced internal reviews of parking infringements.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass said her report, Outsourcing of parking fine internal reviews – a follow-up report, updated the total number of Councils and Agencies which had outsourced fine review decisions to private contractors to 12.
Ms Glass said the latest Councils and Agencies which had, or had plans to, set up refund schemes included the City of Greater Geelong; Frankston City Council; Mildura Rural City Council; Bass Coast Shire Council; Hume City Council; Monash University; and Parks Victoria, for fines issued at Albert Park Reserve.
She said motorists who had unsuccessfully challenged a fine’s legitimacy or fairness during specified periods at any of the Councils or Agencies should contact them to check their eligibility for refunds.
“Tens of thousands of people have been affected by this saga, and I am pleased that all Agencies concerned have now agreed to set up refund schemes,” Ms Glass said.
“Every so often, I table a report suspecting what we discovered during our investigation is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
“This has again proven to be the case with the outsourcing of internal reviews of parking fines.”
The Ombudsman’s initial report into the practice, Investigation into three councils’ outsourcing of parking fine internal reviews , was handed down in February last year and found the affected Melbourne Councils either allowed their contractor to make review decisions, or effectively ‘rubber-stamped’ their recommendations on reviews.
She said her new Report revealed that of the 19 Agencies her Office followed-up with, seven had outsourced their internal reviews in ways similar to those discussed in her 2020 report; four had already announced refund plans; one had previously invited motorists to contact it with any concerns; two had committed to announced plans; and one continued to assert its view that its practices were lawful.
“Whether or not they claim past practices were lawful, all Agencies queried say they now make these decisions themselves,” Ms Glass said.
The Ombudsman’s 23-page follow-up Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
