New Laws for Parking Companies

November 2012. Article by Johnny Smithson.

A new bill was passed through both house of NSW state Parliament this week aimed at preventing private car park companies to get driver's personal details from RMS (formerly known as RTA).

The bill specifically prevents private car parking companies from obtaining NSW vehicles owner's details using a process called Preliminary Discovery. The bill applies to all situations where parking companies claim drivers have breached pay and display parking contracts. The bill does not apply to contracts made in writing, or where a car park company is claiming for physical damage to their property. The bill is also not retrospective, meaning that the car park companies can still go to court to get your details if the alleged breach of contract occured before the bill becomes law.

In introducing the bill last week, NSW Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay, said "some private car park operators are serial abusers of the preliminary discovery process through which the RMS has been obliged to release driver details". He said that "instead of using the process to mount a potential court prosecution, operators have been using it to support a business model of posting mass demands to customers and relying on a proportion of them paying”. Mr Gay went on to say "the threat of legal action in collection notices is little more than a scare tactic". Parliament heard that as of mid-September, courts had ordered the release of more than 150,000 names from the RMS, yet attempted prosecutions for unpaid 'fines' have occurred in less than one per cent of cases.

The other thing to understand, is that the legislation doesn't stop the car park companies from continuing to place fines on driver's windscreens. The unsuspecting motorist may still pay up without getting a letter in the mail first. For example, a person who can't read English and who didn't understand the contract could potentially think it was a council fine and take it home and ask their children to pay it for them. Even though they have not accepted, nor entered into, a contract.

Minster for Roads and Ports Media Release Read more in The Australian....