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Melbourne Councils To Pay Back Nearly $20 Million Worth Of Parking Fines

Melbourne Councils To Pay Back Nearly $20 Million Worth Of Parking Fines

The fines were handed out 'contrary to the law'

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Three Melbourne councils have been ordered to back pay nearly $20 million worth of disputed parking fines.

Tens of thousands of motorists have contested the fines, issued between 2006 and 2017, and the Victorian Ombudsman was forced to investigate the claims.

The tribunal has discovered the fines could have been handed out illegally and ordered the councils of Port Phillip, Stonnington and Glen Eira to return the money.

PA

The Herald Sun reports Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass said the three councils acted 'contrary to law' when it outsourced the parking fine review system to a private contractor.

Ms Glass added: "The legal issues have not been tested in court, so I cannot definitely determine the lawfulness of the councils' actions. But I can express my opinion, which is that the three councils acted contrary to law.

"The suggestion that council officers were making genuine decisions on the evidence was simply not credible.

"It is also apparent that none of the three councils disclosed who was making internal review decisions, each of them providing a similar squiggle by an anonymous officer."

Pixabay

Incredibly, one council officer managed to approve 107 recommendations from a private contractor from 107 fines in just one minute.

That's nearly two every second.

"At least five councils outsourced internal reviews of parking fines to a private contractor over a period of 10 years. Two councils publicly acknowledged legal doubts and refunded affected motorists," Ms Glass continued.

Alice Keeler/Flickr

"Three other councils asserted their practices were lawful, with a generic signature on review letters disguising the identity of their decision makers.

"While it was reasonable for these councils to seek legal advice, they failed to ensure transparency and accountability in their decision making."

The Ombudsman has revealed the true extent of the parking fine repayments. After more than 87,000 affected fines, Port Phillip has been told to refund $8.8 million, with Stonnington had 81,000 affected fines, which totalled $6.9 million and Glen Eira was ordered to repay 36,000 fines worth $3.67 million.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia