Under Road Rules 2014, parking is defined as stop and allow the driver’s vehicle to stay (whether or not the driver leaves the vehicle).

For some offences, such as double parking or parking too close to a dividing line, if you stop for a period to drop off a passenger and do not leave the vehicle or turn the engine off, for the purposes of the road rules, the vehicle is parked.

A road is an area that is open to or used by the public and is developed for, or has as one of its main uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles.

On a road, parking for large trucks is very limited however there is specific overnight truck parking allocated in Planthurst Road, Carlton between 7pm & 5am. The rules relating to oversized vehicle parking are here.

No, you may still be issued a penalty notice. Under the road rules, a vehicle must leave a length of road or area once the maximum time on a permissive parking sign has been reached. If you drive out of the street/parking area and return to the same spot, this is acceptable as the vehicle has left the length of road or area.

No, the time extension for vehicles displaying MPS permits only applies to permissive parking signs which are generally green and indicate a time period. An MPS permit does not provide any exemption for areas such as Loading Zones, Bus Zones or No Stopping Zones. However, in No Parking Zones a period of 5 minutes applies rather than the standard 2 minutes. 

No, whether you park in an MPS zone or another parking space in any of Council’s paid car parking stations, you are not required to purchase a ticket. These car parks are located at Kogarah Town Square (off Derby St, Kogarah), Empress Gardens (Empress Lane, Hurstville) and Greenbank St (Greenbank St, near the intersection of Ormonde Pde, Hurstville).

Councils do not set the fee for penalty notices. The penalty amounts attached to penalty notices are set at a state level and are consistent throughout NSW. If you receive a penalty notice for No Parking for example, the penalty amount is the same regardless of what NSW local government area you are located in.

Under Roads legislation, Penalty Notices may be served by post. Wherever possible, an officer will try to leave a penalty notice on a vehicle when issued however some situations may prevent this from happening, including; 

• If they are unable to find legal parking nearby. Unlike Police and Emergency Vehicles, Council officers are not permitted to park illegally and must obey parking rules like any other driver,
• Where an immediate or perceived Workplace Health and Safety issue is present,
• If the vehicle is driven off before the penalty notice can be issued.

If you park in a timed parking area you can only park as long as permitted by the sign or the statutory rules; the time starts from when you arrive at the location. There are a number of methods used to identify if a vehicle has not moved that do not require marking the tyre. To avoid the potential of being issued a penalty notice it is best to move the vehicle within the required time.  

Within the Georges River Council area, as long as a trailer is registered and is not a heavy or long vehicle, then it may be left in a residential street just the same as any other registered vehicle. 

A vehicle that is illegally parked may not be towed away unless the following circumstances apply:

- If your vehicle is parked on a clearway, these are generally RMS controlled roads, and they may be towed. 
- If a vehicle is causing an obstruction to traffic or is likely to be a danger to the public, then it may be towed and impounded.

There are a number of road rules where sign do not have to be present for an offence to be committed. It is important to understand what these rules are to avoid receiving a penalty notice, some common examples include;

- Stopping within 10m of an intersection
- Parking a heavy/long vehicle longer than 1 hour
- Double parking
- Stopping within 3m of a dividing line or dividing strip
- Not parking in the direction of travel
- Stopping on a path/strip
- Stopping on or across a driveway.

As long as the vehicle is registered and legally parked, then they may remain parked at that location without penalty. If you believe the vehicle could be abandoned then you can undertake a free registration check to see if the vehicle is registered. If the registration has expired then an abandoned vehicle investigation request may be lodged with Council.

Under Road Rules 2014, busses are exempt from the heavy/long provisions and the associated time limit does not apply.

It is an offence to leave a vehicle unattended on or across a driveway. The driveway forms part of the footpath and needs to be kept clear of obstruction. The rules regarding this can be found here.

Council receives numerous complaints about people parking on or across driveways as vehicles parked this way creates a potential hazard to pedestrians or causes an obstruction to people wanting to use the driveway. There is no exemption provided if the owner of the penalised vehicle resides at that property.

Depending on the situation it could be double parking. If there is someone in a nearby vehicle or there is a space immediately available and you are waiting for traffic to clear before parking, this is perfectly reasonable and would be seen as such by the parking officers. If you were waiting  for a space to become available and the nearby vehicles were all unattended, then this would be considered double parking.

If you do intend to pull into a space, ensure that your indicator is on as it will show other road users you intend to park. Any parking officers that may be in the vicinity will check if the any nearby vehicles are attended or return a few minutes later to see if the vehicle had parked legally. If you are still there a few minutes later, nearby vehicles are still unattended, then a penalty notice may be issued.

As outlined in the parking rules of this page, loading zones are designated to permit vehicles that are principally constructed for the conveyance of goods to park for a period of time. Generally, station wagons are permitted 15minutes and utes/vans are permitted 30minutes, however sedans, SUV type vehicles, hatch-backs and 4WD vehicles, other than utes or wagons, may only pick up and drop off briefly but not park the vehicle for 15 or 30 minutes.

No, works zones are installed at the request of building sites and the use of the road is paid for by those sites, to permit vehicles needed for the construction at that site to park. Other vehicles are permitted to pick up and drop off passengers briefly however must not stay parked in those zones otherwise risk being issued a penalty notice.

No, displaying hazard lights does not exempt you from parking rules. Hazard lights should generally only be displayed in situations where the vehicle has stopped in an emergency situation or during hazardous weather conditions.

Wherever possible contact Council on 9330 6400 and provide information on where the vehicle is located, the make, model, colour and registration number to the service officer. Remain near your vehicle if it is safe to do so and if approached by a Parking Officer, you are able to explain that the vehicle is broken down. If you have to leave the vehicle unattended, a note with the reason for the vehicle being left there and a contact number would assist in avoiding being issued a penalty notice.