How parking is regulated

Council issues Penalty Infringement Notices where it is satisfied that a person has breached a restriction for stopping and parking under the Transport Operations(Road Use Management—Road Rules) Regulations 2009 or Noosa Shire Council Local Law No.5 (Parking) 2015.

In Noosa, most parking infringements are detected electronically and validated by an Officer before being issued to the registered owner by post.

The PIN will provide details of the offence and a photograph of the infringing vehicle. It will also provide details of how to pay and additional options.

Do not ignore the Infringement.

You must pay the infringement amount in full by the time stated or make contact with Noosa Council.

If the infringement is not paid by the due date and no contact is made, Council may issue a reminder notice or refer the outstanding amount for recovery.

Council will refer all unpaid fines to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) for collection and additional fees will be applied.

SPER have a range of options for collecting outstanding infringements including instalment plans, vehicle immobilisation, direct collection from wages and driver licence suspension.

If your infringement is referred to SPER, you must contact SPER on 1300 365 635 for all enquiries.

If you are unable to pay the infringement, you can arrange a payment plan with Noosa Council. This option is only available for infringements over $200.

To enter a payment plan, you will need to contact Noosa Council and arrange to pay an initial instalment of $60. You will also need to complete and return the back section of your infringement notice. The payment plan will then be referred to SPER.

Once lodged, SPER will contact you to arrange future payments.

You can request for infringement withdrawal of the infringement by providing a written, reasonable excuse together with your substantiating proof. To ensure that Council can complete the review and make a decision as quickly as possible, it is important that you provide factual supporting evidence with your request.

This could include for example;

• A statement of the facts explain the reasons why the infringement should be withdrawn.
• Photographs or diagrams to support your submission.
• A vehicle repair or towing receipt.
• A statutory declaration stating that you were not the driver of the vehicle and nominating another person.
• A copy of the registration transfer papers showing that you have sold the vehicle.
• A statutory declaration advising that the vehicles was being used illegally without your knowledge or permission for example a Crime report from the Queensland Police Service
• An image of a permits or Disability Parking Permit.
• A medical certificates or statement from a medical practitioner to confirm your medical emergency.

Requests for withdrawal must be made in writing. This is to ensure that both the driver and Council have a clear record of the submission, the review and the decision.

Council can assist you with this if you have difficulties with reading and writing.

Grounds for Council withdrawing an Infringement can include;

• Serious medical emergencies
• The infringement was issued unlawfully/incorrectly
• A vehicle breakdown
• Serious mitigating circumstances leading to the issuing of the notice were unavoidable.

Grounds for Council for not granting a withdraw Infringements include;

• Insufficient proof to substantiate the claims made in the request.
• Financial hardship.
• Foreseeable circumstances, such as running out of fuel or needing to use the toilet
• A lack of vigilance – didn’t see the parking signage.

If you were not the driver at the time of the offence, you may provide a valid signed statutory declaration identifying the full name and address of the driver of the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Please send the completed Statutory Declaration to mail@Noosa.qld.gov.au or hand over the counter at Council customer service located in Tewantin. Failure to do so will indicate that you are responsible for the offence and Council will proceed with legal action against you.

The back page of the infringement notice provides details of how to contest the infringement and have the matter heard by the Magistrate’s Court.

If you are not sure what is involved in contesting your infringement in Court please seek advice from a suitably qualified practitioner.

Council respects the individuals right to have their case heard before the Magistrates Court and will support those wishing to do so by arranging the hearing.

For further information on Council’s approach to managing infringement reviews see Penalty Infringement Notice Review Policy