Council’s current Parking Permit Policy was developed nearly 20 years ago. Our municipality has changed considerably over this time and feedback from the community over the last five years has shown an overwhelming desire for the existing Parking Permit Policy to be revised and improved and access to carparking to be made fairer.

Public carparking is a limited resource in Port Phillip. As our population grows, on-street parking will be harder to find. New parking spaces aren't economical to provide and would take up space that could be used for other transport options or other uses such as public spaces that are needed by our growing community.

Council aims to appropriately manage the demands for parking through the new Parking Management Policy by introducing and adjusting the parking controls, to ensure that we meet current and future requirements, support a high-quality urban lifestyle, and respond to the trade-offs required to achieve this in an increasingly overcrowded road space.

The new Parking Management Policy is also aligned with Council’s Move, Connect, Live: Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28 with policy settings that respond to the challenge of impending population growth across our City.

Council’s current process for making changes to parking controls is reactive and based on customer requests and petitions from our community. This does not always yield the best results for our community overall as it is based on an individual or street-level request.

With the development of the new Policy, Council intends to better support the vibrancy of our streets and the functioning of our neighbourhoods, and to ensure the opportunity to use street space is fair, allowing more people to use the same space more often.

The priority for Council in developing the new Parking Management Policy has been to create fairer and more flexible Residential Parking Areas that will:

• better meet local parking demand
• reduce frustration and traffic congestion caused by not being able to find a space
• make parking more accessible to the whole community when and where it’s needed.

Developing a new Parking Management Policy is just the first step in Council’s plan to address the increasing demand on our limited public spaces.

The Parking Management Policy recognises the community’s desire to create and maintain a high level of liveability, mitigate the impacts of climate change and provide greater transport choices.

As such, the new Policy supports better use and reallocation of available public space to make alternative modes of transport more efficient and effective in the face of rapid population growth.

The timed and paid parking controls in the new Parking Management Policy have been developed to:

• prioritise business owners, employees, visitors and other higher value users in ticketed parking and high turnover (high demand) areas
• allow as many people as possible to have access to carparking by ensuring drivers are only parking in permitted locations as relevant to them, and are leaving the area after the prescribed time has expired
• ensure one in five car spaces available during peak times for frequently visited or high demand areas.

The first changes take effect from 1 July 2021.

More information can be found in the Parking Management Policy.

Under the new Parking Management Policy, the maximum number of Resident Parking Permits per eligible household will be reduced from three to two.

This change take effect from 1 July 2021 for new applicants and 1 July 2025 for existing permit holders.

The cost of the first Resident Parking Permit will be $60, $120 for second permits and $120 for third permits (available to existing permit holders until 30 June 2025).

As part of the new policy, Council is introducing single-use, short-term visitor and foreshore parking vouchers (in packs), available for eligible residents from 1 July 2021, with the number of vouchers and pricing to be adjusted according to demand.

The demand for parking is greater than the number of spaces available in many streets. Free Parking Permits would make existing parking issues worse and further reduce parking availability. On-street parking is a Council and community asset and it is legitimate for the City to determine how this asset should be utilised.

Controlled parking is not a core Council service and therefore is not included with Council rates. Within the City of Port Phillip, 27 per cent of households do not own a car.Including the cost of Parking Permits within rates notices would disadvantage these households as they would be subsidising households with cars.

To address concerns about a lack of residential parking, Council resolved to encourage a reduction in the number of Parking Permits in circulation with the introduction of a small fee. Residents do not have to purchase a permit and many residents choose not to. All Parking Permit revenue is directed back into protecting residential access by achieving fairness by enforcing parking laws, rationing parking by effective restrictions, assisting community participation and awareness, and increasing transport choices.

Resident Parking Permits are issued to eligible residents in accordance with Council’s Parking Permit Policy.

From 1997 to 2002 Council introduced new rules which typically state if a property is sub-divided it then becomes ineligible for Parking Permits. This ensures that existing properties who were already reliant on on-street parking can utilise on-street parking, while new developments are required to provide adequate off-street parking to be self-sufficient.

Residents can check their eligibility by visiting the City of Port Phillip Parking Page and selecting “Am I eligible for a parking permit?”

A ‘user-pays’ system of parking fees and Resident Parking Permit fees ensures that the cost of parking is borne by the parker and not the entire community, including those who cannot, or choose not, to own a car, or those who occupy property with adequate off-street parking.

For this reason, parking fees and Resident Parking Permits will remain on a ‘user-pays’ basis in the new Policy. The benefit parkers derive from paying for a space is that it helps manage demand and ensures that there are always unoccupied spaces that are available for employees, visitors, customers and residents.

All revenue collected for paid parking and parking infringement notices is returned to the City of Port Phillip as consolidated revenue. These funds are then allocated through the normal budgetary planning cycle to provide for a variety of council services. Many of these services, such as libraries, home help and other human services, are subsidised requiring other sources of revenue to meet community expectations. Parking revenue helps to meet these expectations and to provide new facilities for our City.

Local roads, which Council manages and includes on-street parking spaces, are funded by Council with very little funding from other levels of government. Parking fees helps to maintain these road and parking assets.

Parking in our City is a limited and shared resource. Council’s focus is on providing fairer access for residents to access parking in their local area.

Council recognises that cars are essential for some people in the community. This includes older people, people with a disability and areas where there may be limited access to public transport.

As part of Council’s Move, Connect, Live: Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28, our target is to increase daily walking, bike riding and public transport usage for internal and to or from trips across the municipality while not increasing private car trips.

While Council has these targets, we understand that this will look different for everyone in the community and that some people in our community will need to drive for most of their trips.

The Move, Connect, Live: Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28 was prepared following an exhaustive community consultation process.

Many of the actions and directions in this strategy were supported by community feedback and matters addressed by the new Parking Management Policy are reflective of this feedback.

Council will be monitoring parking availability targets across the City so appropriate time-restricted parking controls can be applied to allow as many people as possible to have access to parking when and where they need it.

This, along with the introduction of precinct-based Residential Parking Areas rather than the current “surrounding streets” model, may result in changes to parking restrictions in some streets but will ensure more reliable and fairer access to carparking in the long run.

Individual carparking concerns are not included in the scope of this new Policy.

To talk to Council about changing the parking restrictions in your street, contact ASSIST on 03 9209 6777.

View the Residential Parking Areas - fact sheet.

The removal of carparks is outside the scope of this Policy; however, Council recognises the benefits that other uses of our public spaces can bring to the community and as such, some kerb space will need to be converted from parking to accommodate these other uses over time.

With limited public spaces available and a well-established road and public transport network, we have limited ability to increase capacity for on-street carparking and traffic flow.

The new Parking Management Policy aims to address the City’s existing and future growth and transport challenges while taking into account our geographical and logistical limitations as well as prioritising other uses for our public spaces that create the greatest benefit for the community as a whole.

Where streets form the boundary of a Residential Parking Area, permit holders will be permitted to park on both sides of the street as long as they are still within the City of Port Phillip (and not in a neighbouring municipality). Parking signs will indicate which Residential Parking Area permit holders can park on that street.

Within our municipality, there are streets where more permits are issued than there are available spaces. The Residential Parking Areas seek to provide more options for residents to find a car park close to their home. The Residential Parking Areas are based on a reasonable walking distance of approximately 400 metres from a resident’s property to their car and are designed to provide a larger available parking zone than current without each area being so large that they encourage driving within a parking area.

Along with Residential Parking Areas, the new Policy also limits the number of permits issued per residential property, which will free up parking spaces within local areas and provide more options for residents to find a space near where they live.

The relevant Residential Parking Area will be clearly displayed on Resident Parking Permits and Visitor Parking Vouchers.

Council-wide Resident Parking Permits would result in some residents driving for local trips and using their parking permit to park near key destinations; causing increased congestion and lack of parking in high-demand areas.

Currently Resident Parking Permits allow permit holders to park in the streets immediately surrounding their residential property. This arrangement is successful in easing pressure on various premium parking locations. However as needs evolve, and the population grows, this ‘surrounding streets’ model no longer provides the flexibility required for residents to find a car space close to home. This was reflected in previous community engagement in which 46 per cent of Port Phillip residents surveyed claimed that it is difficult or extremely difficult to find a carpark on the street near their home.

The Residential Parking Permit areas seek to provide more options for more residents to find a park close to their home. It is understood that residents prefer to park on the street they live in, however Council is aware this is not always possible. The Residential Parking Areas have been developed to ensure residents do not have to walk more than 400m from where they park their car to their property. Resident Parking Permits ensure residents are given priority in residential streets.

The aim of moving to Residential Parking Areas is to provide residents with an opportunity to find a space within reasonable walking distance (400m) from where they park their car to where they live. It is important to note that Council considers this to be a reasonable walking distance for able-bodied people conducting most tasks.

Council currently has a process to install accessible parking spaces in residential streets. Requests for accessible parking spaces need to be received in writing explaining the reasons and preferred location. When considering the request, Council officers will consider the following:

• Australian Standards recommends 1 accessible parking space for 50 standard spaces.
• if there are any existing spaces nearby and how well they are utilised.

No, you will not be required to purchase parking permits. Only households adjacent to prohibitive parking restrictions (i.e. No Stopping, No Parking or a Permit Zone) or timed parking restrictions can apply for parking permits.

Parking in the City of Port Phillip is a limited resource and projected population growth across the municipality means more people will be sharing the same amount of car spaces. The new Policy aims to provide more options for more people more often to find a carpark. We have a finite amount of road space which has many competing demands including other transport modes, public and green spaces. Multiple occupant households are encouraged to consider their transport needs carefully, and to use other means of transportation where available and appropriate.

Council understands that these changes may be difficult for some residents and may take some time to adjust to. Therefore, the new Policy changes to Resident Parking Permit provisions will not impact existing permit holders until 1 July 2025 to allow time for this adjustment.

There are currently areas in the municipality where more permits have been issued than there are available parking spaces. With the projected population growth in the City of Port Phillip, continuing to provide three Resident Parking Permits to existing permit holders would not be sustainable. Council understands that these changes may be difficult for some residents and may take some time to adjust to. Therefore, the new Policy changes to Resident Parking Permit provisions will not impact existing permit holders until 1 July 2025 to allow time for this adjustment.

Residents are entitled to apply for a review of their Resident Parking Permit application if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

• demonstrated personal or family disability or hardship;
• demonstrated temporary loss of access to onsite parking due to public works or essential decommissioning of onsite parking; or
• demonstrated irregularities in the application of eligibility requirements of this Policy.

In developing the new Parking Management Policy, Council undertook benchmarking with adjacent councils as well as with other similar councils in Victoria and interstate and found that the provisions of the Resident Parking Permits are consistent with these councils.

There are currently areas in the municipality where more permits have been issued than there are available parking spaces. 2,423 households in Port Phillip currently have three Resident Parking Permits. This includes Resident Parking Permits, Visitor Parking Permits and Combined Resident / Foreshore Parking Permits.

As parking is not a core Council service, it is not included in Council rates. Additionally, on-street parking is a Council and community asset and it is legitimate for the City to determine how this asset should be utilised.

Within the City of Port Phillip, 16 per cent of households do not own a car. Including the cost of Resident Parking Permits within rates notices would disadvantage these households as they would be subsidising households with cars.

To address concerns about a lack of residential parking, Council has previously resolved to encourage a reduction in the number of Resident Parking Permits in circulation with the introduction of a small fee. It is not mandatory for a resident to purchase a Parking Permit and many residents choose not to do so.

Households without off-street parking will not be impacted by the Policy changes. Residents with unusable or redundant driveways can choose to have the driveway removed to receive the full Resident Parking Permit entitlement.

To find out more and to apply for driveway removal, Contact Us or use Online Services to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback online. If you prefer, please call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777.

Note: rear access laneways will not be taken into account, since only households with a driveway from the street reduce the availability of on-street parking.

During previous community engagement around parking in the City, 27 per cent of residents surveyed said that they do not always use their off-street parking to park their vehicle.

For those who do not use their off-street parking, the most common reason was that they use the car space for storage purposes or that the off-street parking was unusable.

In keeping with the approach used by adjacent and similar councils both in Victoria and interstate, Council is reducing the number of Resident Parking Permits available to an eligible residence based on driveway width; and therefore, the number of parking spaces the driveway removes from the local supply.

For example:

• -An eligible single dwelling with a driveway less than six metres in width will be eligible for one Resident Parking Permit.
• -An eligible single dwelling with a driveway more than six metres in width won’t be eligible for any Resident Parking Permits.

As per the new Policy, residential developments built after 1 October 2002 are not eligible for Resident Parking Permits.

In many streets within the municipality, demand for parking is greater than the number of spaces available. Providing the first Resident Parking Permit at no cost would potentially encourage more residents to apply for Resident Parking Permits, even when they have adequate off-street parking and at the same time reduce the public value of the on-street parking space. It was considered that this would make the parking permits system less fair than the current situation. By charging a small fee for the first Resident Parking Permit, Council hopes to encourage residents to utilise off-street parking where available and / or use alternative and more sustainable modes of transport. This reflects the benchmarking completed with nearby councils.

Currently, eligible concession card holders are entitled to apply for one Resident Parking Permit (including Resident, Foreshore and Visitor Parking Permits) free of charge, and subsequent Resident Parking Permits at half price.

The new Parking Management Policy will maintain the same approach with the first Resident Parking Permit or 360 Visitor / Foreshore Parking Vouchers being free, and subsequent permits or vouchers charged at half price. The following concession card holders are entitled to receive a discount:

• Pensioner Concession Card issued by Centrelink, Department of Human Services or Department of Veterans’ Affairs
• Health Care Card issued by Centrelink or Department of Human Services
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card issued by Department of Human Services
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Gold Card – War Widow (WW) or Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI).

Implementing a tiered pricing structure for Resident Parking Permits is designed to better reflect the value of public parking spaces, manage and respond to supply and demand in residential areas, promote use of existing parking to reduce pressure on local parking availability, and encourage reduced car ownership and car dependence and greater use of alternative, sustainable modes of transport.

This approach is consistent with the current practices of adjacent inner-city municipalities.

A voucher is effective for up to 24 hours. For the purposes of flexibility, people visiting for a shorter period of time, can choose whether to use a Visitor Parking Voucher, or park their vehicle and comply with the time limits, or if in a paid parking area, make the necessary payment.

Once a resident has used their maximum Visitor Parking Voucher allocation (360 vouchers per annum) they will not be entitled to apply for further Visitor Parking Vouchers for a year from the voucher purchase date.

The number of Visitor Parking Vouchers in circulation is also limited, as eligible households will only be able to purchase a maximum of 60 vouchers every two months.

Visitor Parking Vouchers can only be used in areas where parking is restricted to 30 minutes or longer. While Council acknowledges that visitors will use the same number of vouchers whether parking for one hour or 24 hours, significant cost savings will still be achieved by moving to the Visitor Parking Voucher system.

Currently Port Phillip residents pay $112 for an annual Visitor Parking Permit. During previous engagement it was found that 22 per cent of surveyed residents used their Visitor Parking Permit a couple of times a week, 27 per cent use them every day and 29 per cent use them frequently.

Council acknowledges that some residents have visitors that need to travel by private vehicle and visit for a period longer than the timed restrictions. Removing visitor parking entitlements would not be an equitable approach to varying parking needs across the City.

While walking to the foreshore is encouraged by Council, we acknowledge that walking is not an option for everyone. Removing foreshore parking entitlements would not be an equitable approach to varying parking needs across the City.

Once a resident has used their maximum foreshore parking voucher allocation (360 vouchers per annum) they will not be entitled to apply for further Foreshore Parking Vouchers for a year from the voucher purchase date.
The number of Foreshore Parking Vouchers in circulation will be limited as eligible households will only be able to purchase a maximum of 60 vouchers every two months.

The new approach will ensure that more people can use our limited parking resources more often, in turn providing increased access to our local businesses and high-demand areas.

The Policy includes different types of parking controls, which will increase reliability and availability of carparking for all users.

These controls - including timed and paid parking areas - will be based on parking availability during certain times of the day. In order to achieve a reliable level of parking availability in specific areas, pricing and time restrictions will be adjusted annually based on evidence gathered by Council officers.

For example, if the parking availability is low in a specific location, fees will be increased to encourage turnover. If parking availability is high, fees will be decreased. Parking fees will be determined through Council’s budget process.

Residents with a valid Resident Parking Permit will be able to park within paid and timed parking areas if specified on the sign without paying or needing to adhere to time restrictions.

Investigations are currently underway with the aim to implement e-permits by 1 July 2021 to minimise paper use and waste, improve the customer experience and assist in preventing fraud and misuse of vouchers.

Council intends to make the vouchers simple and easy to use for all permit holders, consistent with its commitment to improving customer experience and the ease of interacting with Council by seeking to secure a range of methods for people to purchase and activate the vouchers, such as over the phone, in person, on-line and via a smartphone app.

Parking needs for businesses have been addressed in the new Policy by the introduction of evidence-based, demand responsive parking controls designed to increase reliability and availability of parking for all users. Introducing additional permit types is contrary to the objectives of the Policy. Instead it would increase the pressures on parking near commercial areas and shopping strips while making it harder for any permit holder to find a parking space and not improve parking availability.

Council’s new Policy was developed to address two of the 42 actions identified within Council’s Move, Connect, Live: Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28 (the Strategy).

The new Policy provides overarching guidance about parking management across the City of Port Phillip and complements other related policies and projects including the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Parking Permit Scheme.

The parking allocation hierarchy within the new Policy identifies Disabled Persons Parking above other user types such as customers, businesses and local employees and residents. This will ensure that carparking for people with disabilities is prioritised.

Council is also upgrading existing accessible parking spaces to meet best practice and comply with targets set out in the Disability Discrimination Act.

It is also important to note that the Disabled Persons Parking Permit allows permit holders to park in areas restricted to 30 minutes or longer for double the time restriction. For example, a Disabled Persons Parking Permit holder can park in a two-hour zone for four hours.

In developing the new Policy, Council conducted extensive benchmarking with adjacent and similar Councils This allowed us to ensure the proposed demand responsive pricing and parking permit fees are consistent with the approach of other Councils.

The new Policy does not address parking for bicycles, motorbikes and other motorised vehicles such as e-scooters as these vehicles can be parked on nature-strips / footpaths rather than removing on-street car spaces from the local supply.

Valid parking permits can be used by any private vehicle. A private vehicle includes any vehicle that is not a truck, trailer, bus, coach, towable caravan, vehicle over 7.5m in length or vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) greater than 4.5 tonnes. If you need to report a vehicle to Council, call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or contact us via Online Services.

Registered trailers are managed in the same manner as registered vehicles. Council deem registered trailers abandoned if they remain unmoved and there has been no contact from the owner after 60 days. The timeframe for removing registered trailers cannot be shortened as the Local Government Act requires Council to wait for 60 days.

If registered trailers are parked in restricted parking areas, Council’s enforcement team will issue infringements.

Some residents could argue that having short-stay guests is no different to having visitors and it is therefore difficult for Council officers to distinguish whether vehicles have been parked by guests, residents or visitors.

By moving to single-use, short-term Visitor Parking Vouchers, guests using the vouchers will only be able to do so for a 24-hour period.

Due to population growth and extensive development across the municipality, a Council resolution was made on 23 September 2002 that ensured resident parking was catered for through the City of Port Phillip Planning Scheme. This resolution required that developers now had to provide off-street parking onsite, mitigating the need for on-street parking. Council assesses and makes decisions regarding parking requirements for new developments based on the City of Port Phillip Planning Scheme, however these can be overruled by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Regardless of parking requirements outlined for new developments, the eligibility rules within the new Policy state that developments built after 2002 are not entitled for Resident Parking Permits or Visitor Parking Vouchers.