MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has unanimously voted to set parking infringement penalties at 0.5 penalty units following an administrative error in this year’s budget process.
The resolution relates to 11 parking offences, including overstaying a parking limit, failure to pay for parking, and parking outside marked bays.
The Road Safety Act 1986 states the default penalty for offences is 0.2 penalty units; however, council can resolve to increase to a maximum of 0.5 penalty units per offence.
At the 18 August council meeting, councillors endorsed increasing the penalty to 0.5 penalty units, meaning the affected offences will result in a $105 fine, rather than the default $42.
The issue arose after the wording in this year’s Schedule of Fees and Charges was changed and did not clearly establish the higher rate, as council had not formally resolved the set penalty unit.
Council said following the administrative error, a number of parking infringements were revoked and affected motorists were contacted directly by the shire.
Cr Kate Roper, who moved the motion, described the resolution as an administrative correction.
“This is to confirm something that we have been doing,” said Roper.
Cr Andrea Allen said she wanted to clarify the 0.5 penalty unit amount for the current year is $105, rather than the $102 figure referenced in the council report, which relates to the previous financial year.
She also raised concerns about similar administrative issues identified by other councils, where higher parking penalties had been issued without a valid council resolution.
“I wanted to be satisfied that our issue was limited to this financial year,” said Allen.
She said it appeared the peninsula issue was limited to the current year because the relevant wording in the budget’s fees and charges has been changed.
Allen referenced the council’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy, which states enforcement decisions should not be made for the purpose of increasing revenue.
She acknowledged the increase from 0.2 units to 0.5 and said she was comfortable with the higher penalty where it was used as a deterrent and was warranted in areas experiencing high parking demand.
Cr David Gill said he was surprised a full explanation of the issue had not been provided earlier in the meeting.
“There is still a need, in my viewpoint, to apologise even though councillors probably found out after the event,” said Gill.
Gill said the apology should extend to shopkeepers as parking enforcement is important for ensuring turnover of spaces outside businesses.
He also raised concerns about the safety implications of parking issues and said council needed to ensure the problem was corrected as quickly as possible.
“There’s a loss to the budget,” said Gill.
“That’s unfortunate, and that’s also a penalty to people expecting council to be doing things on their behalf with ratepayer money.”
Roper acknowledged “mistakes were made” but council was taking steps to correct the issue.
“We are here to make this correction tonight,” said Roper.
The motion was carried unanimously, with the 11 parking offences now set to receive a penalty of 0.5 penalty units, equivalent to $105 in the 2026/27 financial year.
First published in the Mornington News – 25 August 2026
