Australian airports have been under increasing pressure of late in respect to the pricing of parking, following the release of the ACCC’s report into pricing and service levels in March.
Last week, Transport Department officials discovered that about 70,000 parking infringements were issued at airports around Australia that are invalid, because the parking officer authorisations were not renewed.
The oversight meant that an estimated $5 million in invalid infringements have been issued since late 2004 at most major airports in Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Gold Coast.
Whilst the department says people should not expect refunds for unauthorised notices that have already been paid, it admits that any outstanding fines could be successfully disputed based on the defense that the notice was issued by an unauthorised person.