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As someone who worked in retail for close to a decade, I’ve seen my fair share of drivers who have lost the shopping-centre car park battle – particularly in the lead up to any major holiday.
The constant beeps and occasional yells from frustrated drivers as their cars pile up behind one reversing motorist are ingrained in my memory.
Though it’s understandably infuriating, some drivers may be tempted to exceed parking limits rather than looking for another available park.
But can you legally be fined by a shopping centre for staying beyond the designated hours? Drive spoke to experts to find out.
Technically, yes – but not in the way you might think. While shopping centres cannot issue parking fines or infringements, centre authorities can penalise and pursue drivers through a ‘breach of contract’ notice for violating parking laws.
When a driver enters a private car park, they must legally comply with the operator’s terms and conditions, which can include time limits. Any motorist found to breach these rules can incur a notice that generally seeks a claim for ‘liquidated damages’.
Legal Aid NSW consumer law solicitor Dana Beiglari said shopping centre parking fines were "legally enforceable" and drivers who did not pay may end up in court.
“If a driver ignores the parking notice, the car park can take steps to enforce the debt,” Beiglari told Drive.
“They can bring a claim in court to recover the debt. The car park would need to prove to the court that the person entered into a contract with the car park and that they breached the terms of the contract. For example, by parking for too long or not paying the relevant fee.”
Further compounding the issue, some shopping centre car parks are co-owned by local councils, meaning council enforcement authorities have legal grounds to fine drivers caught breaking the road rules.
Defence Lawyer Australia traffic defence lawyer Jimmy Singh said in some cases, shopping centres could employ third-party agencies to recoup the debt from a driver refusing to pay.
“If the notice isn’t paid, these shopping centres would normally use a recovery agency to recover the debt, and if a driver continues to refuse, then they’ll take you to court,” Singh told Drive.
However, privately hired debt collectors are under a strict legal obligation to clarify that they are not government agents, and that the notice they issue is not a fine or infringement.
“If debt collectors are being dishonest and are misrepresenting [themselves] as a government agent or the breach of contract notice, then that would probably come within a criminal offence of dishonest conduct to obtain financial advantage, which is obviously illegal,” Singh explained.
Before you start to wonder how these debt agencies find you, it's worth noting shopping centres and debt collectors can access a driver's personal information – such as their name and address – through the state or territory's transport authorities.
Singh said it was unlikely shopping centres would pursue legal action for one fine, given the “expenses involved in going through the legal process”, but they were within their legal rights to sue drivers for a civil dispute.
But times are changing, and some shopping centres are more lenient with their parking laws.
At Melbourne's Chadstone – the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere – a strategy of quantity and non-enforcement seeks to reduce parking congestion around the area.
“[We] offer over 10,000 free car parks to support our customers and the broader community," a Chadstone Shopping Centre spokesperson told Drive.
“While we don’t currently issue or enforce any infringement processes, we do encourage our retailers and staff to park in designated areas to ensure that spaces remain available to shoppers.”
How can I contest a shopping centre parking fine?
Unfortunately, shopping centres are equipped with an abundance of evidence if the fine goes to court, and it’s up to the driver to show the magistrate – either through receipts, photographs or video – that the breach of contract was incorrect.
“If they’re taking legal action against you, they have to prove on the balance of probabilities that you entered the car park, there was a sign that explained the terms and conditions, and that’s when you did that,” Singh said.
“If they can connect those dots to show the court that’s the registration of the vehicle, it’s registered to your name, there’s a photo or video of you entering and exiting outside of the terms and conditions, then they’re going to be able to substantiate that claim against you on the balance of probabilities at the very least.”
If drivers were adamant they had found a way to skirt around the laws, Singh advised them to proceed with caution, as it may not always be a guaranteed method of having the penalty revoked.
“Trying to look for loopholes tends to get you in trouble. If you want to look for loopholes and dispute it on technical grounds, then [remember] you are going to be out of pocket for legal expenses, unless you can do it all yourself without a lawyer. It’s probably worthwhile paying the fine if you use a private car park," he said.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
