Question 1

Are parking breach notices enforceable?

Accepted Answer

Yes, parking breach notices are enforceable under contract law. They are not government fines.There are many examples of cases being defended successfully in the courts of Australia and New Zealand relating to parking breach notices.

Question 2

Are you allowed to issue me with a breach notice?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The car park is private property and is operated by us at the request of the property owner for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing the rules of vehicle access and use. By entering the car park and parking your vehicle, you accepted, and agreed to be bound by, the Terms authorising and applicable to your use of the car park which are communicated via the clear signage at the car park site. We ensure that all our sites and signage is clear and visible. As you have breached your obligations under the Terms, we are entitled to issue you with a breach notice setting out a fee that reflects our actual and reasonable costs in enforcing the Terms.

Question 3

How did you obtain my name and address?

Accepted Answer

You may have provided your details to us previously. In New Zealand, we can also obtain registered owner details from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register. We have authorised access to this information for the purpose of enforcing the Terms applicable to the use of our car parks. To be able to obtain ownership details, Enforce iQ (a division of Imperium iQ Ltd) is accredited to use the NZTA Motochek database via gazette 2023-au1883. All our activity is conducted in accordance with section 241 of the Land Transport Act 1998.We are able to use these details to send you notices advising of a breach of parking terms and conditions and corresponding payment requests, as well as providing the registered person information to debt collection agencies to lawfully collect the debt. You can choose to opt out of the Motochek database, which requires telling the Registrar you do not want your name and address released under Section 241. However, NZTA can still authorise access to your details under other provisions of the Land Transport Act, including when NZTA determines that information available under Section 236 may be disclosed under the Official Information Act, as permitted by Section 237(2)(d) of the Land Transport Act.

Question 4

Is the car park not public?

Accepted Answer

No. All our managed car parks are privately owned, and visitors are permitted to use the car park for legitimate purposes as specified on the car park signage, so long as it doesn’t exceed the time paid for (for paid sites), or sign posted time limits, and is not in breach of our car park terms and conditions (Terms).

Question 5

Why did I receive a breach notice?

Accepted Answer

Your use of the car park is bound by our Terms which can be found on the signage at the site. You have received a breach notice because you have breached these Terms. This could include (but is not limited to) obligations around payment, time on site or parking in incorrect parking bays.

Question 6

Is there a grace period applied at car parks?

Accepted Answer

We provide a 10 minute grace period at all our managed car parks. This accounts for the time it may take to determine whether you want to park in the car park, or pay for parking and return to your vehicle after payment. Grace periods also provide a window of time to account for short delays in the car park and loading vehicles.

FAQ

Are parking breach notices enforceable?

Are you allowed to issue me with a breach notice?

How did you obtain my name and address?

Is the car park not public?

Why did I receive a breach notice?

Is there a grace period applied at car parks?

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