The Fines Amendment (Parking Fines) Act 2024 came into effect on 1 July 2025 and introduced significant changes to the way parking fines are issued in New South Wales.
The primary reform requires Council’s authorised officers, when issuing a parking fine, to attach a notification to the vehicle—either the penalty notice itself or a notification of the fine—unless one of the prescribed exceptions for non-attachment applies.
In addition, the legislation requires new reporting obligations for issuing agencies. Council’s reports must now include the following data:
- Total number of parking fines issued
- Number of fines where a notification was not attached to the vehicle
- Reasons why a fine or notification was not left on the vehicle, in accordance with Section 24AD (1) (a–c) and Clause 5C (a, b, d)
- Number of fines invalidated due to notification not being attached, under the following provisions:
- Section 24AE (2): Fines withdrawn because they were not issued within 7 days of the offence
Section 24AG: Fines withdrawn due to multiple penalty notices being issued within one week for the same offence, where no notification was left for the earlier offence
- Section 24AH(1)(a)(ii): Fines withdrawn because no notification was left on the vehicle, and no photographic evidence was taken to demonstrate the offence
- Section 24AH(1)(b): Fines withdrawn due to non-compliance with Section 24AD (2), which requires officers to record and report the reasons for not leaving a notification at the time of issue
Council’s report is provided below:
Cumberland City Council - Report on grounds for not attaching notification for parking offences
This report satisfies the reporting requirement under section 24AD(4) of the Fines Act 1996.
It contains information and data relating to special provisions relating to parking offences under Division 2AA of the Fines Act 1996. Information required to be included in this report is outlined in clause 9 of the Fines Regulation 2025.
References to Clause 8 Fines Regulation 2025 include references to Clause 5C of the Fines Regulation 2020.
Organisational Details
| Name of organisation - Cumberland City Council |
| Reporting start date - 01/07/2025 |
| Reporting period end date - 30/09/2025 |
| Reporting officer name - Catherine Price |
| Reporting officer position - Manager Waste and Ranger Services |
| Reporting officer phone number - 02 8757 9127 |
| Reporting officer email - cathy.price@cumberland.nsw.gov.au |
| Date of submission - 28/10/2025 |
| I certify that to the best of my knowledge this report is true and accurate - Catherine Price |
Table 1
Totals for Cumberland City Council
| Description | Count |
|---|---|
| Parking fines total | 6,556 |
| Valid parking fines where a fine notice or notification was attached to the vehicle | 6,039 |
| Valid parking fines where a fine notice or notification was not attached to the vehicle | 434 |
| Invalid parking fines | 83 |
Table 2
Cumberland City Council Grounds for not attaching a fine notice or notification
| Grounds | Count | % of unattached fines | % of total fines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clause 5C (a) the vehicle involved in the parking offence moved before a notification could be attached... | 389 | 89.63% | 5.93% |
| Clause 5C (d)(ii) vehicle was a trailer... | 13 | 3.00% | 0.20% |
| Section 24AD (1)(a) it was not safe to attach the notification - verbal intimidation | 9 | 2.07% | 0.14% |
| Section 24AD (1)(a) it was not safe to attach the notification - other reasons | 7 | 1.61% | 0.11% |
| Clause 5C (d)(i) vehicle was a heavy vehicle... | 5 | 1.15% | 0.08% |
| Section 24AD (1)(a) it was not safe to attach the notification - location of the vehicle | 5 | 1.15% | 0.08% |
| Section 24AD (1)(a) it was not safe to attach the notification - physical intimidation | 2 | 0.46% | 0.03% |
| Section 24AD (1)(c) the vehicle was not stationary | 2 | 0.46% | 0.03% |
| Clause 5C (b) the officer required internet access and it was not available... | 2 | 0.46% | 0.03% |
| Grand Total | 434 | 100.00% | 6.62% |
Table 3
Cumberland City Council Reasons for invalidated fines
| Reason | Total Invalidated |
|---|---|
| Invalidated under section 24AE(2) | 21 |
| Similar offence under Section 24AG | 0 |
| Invalidated under section 24AH(1)(a) | 0 |
| Invalidated under section 24AH(1)(b) | 1 |
| Other | 61 |
| Grand Total | 83 |
