A Melbourne council will refund up to $12 million worth of parking fines it incorrectly issued due to an ‘administration error’ dating back more than a decade.
Starting in July, Merri-bek City Council will launch a Parking Fines Refund Scheme for motorists who were issued parking infringements between July 1, 2013, and June 11, 2025.
The council didn’t disclose how many infringements the issue impacted but has said the total potential refund cost is $12 million, working out to more than 250,000 fines – with many motorists stung multiple times.
In a statement, the council said it incorrectly applied a weighting of 0.5 penalty units to the parking offences, where it was legally only permitted to apply 0.2 penalty units.
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In Victoria, the penalty unit system is used to determine the financial cost of infringements, with the value of a single unit for the 2024-2025 financial year set at $197.59.
For more than a decade, Merri-bek City Council’s incorrect weighting meant motorists paid more for their parking fines – up to $59.27 – due to the error which the council picked up earlier this month.
The Parking Fines Refund Scheme will return the overcharged amount – not the cost of the entire fine – to motorists who received infringements for 11 different parking offences (listed at the end of this article).
The fines themselves won’t be overturned, while according to Fines Victoria, any outstanding infringement payments will be put on hold, meaning no additional loading fees/late fees will be applied.
The council won’t be approaching those impacted, with motorists who have paid a parking find during the period needing to supply the infringement number or the vehicle registration along with proof of ownership for when the fine was issued.
Merri-bek City Council – which changed its name from Moreland City Council in 2022 – has a population approaching 200,000.
It includes the Melbourne suburbs of Brunswick, Brunswick East, Brunswick West, Coburg, Coburg North, Fawkner, Glenroy, Gowanbrae, Hadfield, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale and Pascoe Vale South.
| Merri-Bek City Council Parking Fines Refund Scheme eligible infringement types |
|---|
| 1. Parked for period longer than indicated |
| 2. Parked fail to pay and obey instructions on sign |
| 3. Stopped contrary to a No Parking sign |
| 4. Stopped on a bicycle parking area |
| 5. Stopped on a motor bike parking area |
| 6. Parked contrary to requirement of parking area |
| 7. Parked not at an angle of 45 degrees |
| 8. Parked not at an angle of 90 degrees |
| 9. Parked not completely within a parking bay |
| 10. Parked long vehicle exceed minimum number of bays |
| 11. Parked wide vehicle exceed minimum number of bays |