Brisbane City Council issued 170,677 parking fines worth $34.35 million in the 2023-24 financial year, averaging $94,000 per day or about $3,900 every hour. This marks an increase from the previous year, when 168,042 fines totaling $30.58 million were issued.
The top suburb for parking fines was the Brisbane CBD with 29,161 penalties, followed by Fortitude Valley (23,170), South Brisbane (nearly 20,000), Spring Hill (11,857), and Bowen Hills (7,233). Other suburbs in the top ten included Milton, Woolloongabba, West End, Newstead, and Kangaroo Point.
The most common parking offence was failing to comply with the 'authorised system' in a fixed-hour zone, resulting in 49,182 fines. Other frequent offences included stopping contrary to a no-stopping sign (25,016 fines), stopping on a road with a yellow edge line (11,524), stopping in a bus zone (9,309), and stopping on a road with clearway signs (9,282).
The council withdrew at least 5,976 infringement notices totaling about $1 million following objections from drivers. The top reasons for withdrawn fines were 'extenuating circumstances,' officer error, reasonable doubt, and 'compassionate grounds.'
Civic cabinet chair for city standards, Sarah Hutton, noted that the council received about 40,000 reports of illegal parking in the past financial year. She urged drivers to follow road rules to avoid fines, highlighting a three-stage appeal process for those who believe they were unfairly penalized.
In addition to fines, the council issued about 7,000 'zero-value warnings' to drivers who breached parking rules. Drivers can challenge fines through an internal review, a review by the independent disputes commissioner, or by electing to have the matter heard in the Magistrates Court.
