Baw Baw Shire Council is rolling out a parking infringement refund scheme after identifying an administrative issue that has resulted in the over-collection of parking infringement fines.
Motorists who received parking fines between 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2010 or 1 July 2016 to 4 August 2025 for seven minor types of parking infringements can jump online to see if they are eligible for a refund of the overcharged amount.
The refund amount depends on the date the infringement was issued and varies from $13.50 to $61.
To be eligible for a refund, you must have paid a parking fine issued by Baw Baw Shire Council between 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2010 or 1 July 2016 to 4 August 2025 for one of the following offences:
Offence Description | Road Rule | Offence Code |
Parking for longer than indicated | RR 205 | 701 |
Parked contrary to requirement of parking area | RR 209(2) | 706 |
Parked – failed to comply with angle parking | RR 210(1) | 707 |
Parked – failed to comply with 90 degree angle parking | RR 210(1) | 708 |
Parked not completely within a parking bay | RR 211(2) | 711 |
Parked – long vehicle exceeding minimum number of bays | RR 211(3) | 712 |
Stopped contrary to no-parking sign | RR 168(1) | 621 |
Fines issued from 5 August 2025 do not form part of the refund scheme as the error was fixed on this date.
The Road Safety Act 1986 enables Councils to increase the penalty for 11 minor parking offences up to a maximum 0.5 penalty unit; however, a specific Council resolution is required to increase the parking penalty units. Without a resolution, councils can only apply a 0.2 penalty unit.
Due to an administrative error, Baw Baw Shire Council applied the maximum 0.5 penalty unit to the lower-level parking infringement types without a specific Council resolution to do so. At the time when the error was made, Council officers were of the belief the fees were set as statutory fees which didn’t need any further action from Council.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor Councillor Kate Wilson said Council was committed to rectifying this issue.
“We’ve identified an issue and it will be fixed,” Cr Wilson said.
“Our teams have been working hard behind the scenes to rectify these issues.”
“Affected motorists will be able to apply for a refund of the overcharged amount of their parking fine and Council apologises for any inconvenience caused to the community.”
To check your eligibility and apply for the partial refund, please visit: https://bawbawshire.co/parking-infringement-refund
To make a refund claim, you will need to provide either an infringement number or a vehicle registration number and to ensure refunds go to the correct person, applicants will also have to provide certain documents in support of their application. The list of documentation required can be found on Council’s website. To begin your application, click the ‘check eligibility’ button on the web page linked above.
