I recently received a fine in the mail from the AFP for $714. There were two fines: one for parking in a disabled spot ($600) and one for not parking properly in that parking spot ($114).
I remember the night well. While the car was mine, I was not driving as I was not licenced at the time. A friend was driving and I was in the passenger seat. We went to the club for a coffee on the way home from a night out and only realised the park was a disabled spot as we exited the space. I received the fines in the mail a week later. While I understand the importance of adhering to parking laws, particularly relating to disabled parking spots (and have NEVER before parked or been fined parking in disabled spots), I was shocked at the amount of the fine and the fact that I was being fined for parking in a space and fined again for not parking in the space properly (?!) My friend subsequently enquired with the club and the manager there was quite taken aback to learn that the AFP had been handing out fines in the club's carpark. I've noticed that since then the club have had its parking lot boom gate down and have been issuing tickets to cars using its carpark whereas it very rarely did this prior to being told of the finest.
My question is this: do the AFP have the authority to issue parking fines in private car parks without the permission of the carpark owner? I can't find an answer to this online. My friend and i are currently unemployed and I have no idea how I'm going to afford to pay this. I know Im not legally obliged to pay the fine and will have to state that my friend was driving (as I'm sure if I dont I'll likely receive another fine for driving unlicenced), but i still feel compelled to pay at least the majority of the fine given the car is mine and it was at least half my fault for not noticing the disabled sign on the ground when we parked in the spot.
Sorry for driveling on but I am desperate for advice on how best to deal with this. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
I remember the night well. While the car was mine, I was not driving as I was not licenced at the time. A friend was driving and I was in the passenger seat. We went to the club for a coffee on the way home from a night out and only realised the park was a disabled spot as we exited the space. I received the fines in the mail a week later. While I understand the importance of adhering to parking laws, particularly relating to disabled parking spots (and have NEVER before parked or been fined parking in disabled spots), I was shocked at the amount of the fine and the fact that I was being fined for parking in a space and fined again for not parking in the space properly (?!) My friend subsequently enquired with the club and the manager there was quite taken aback to learn that the AFP had been handing out fines in the club's carpark. I've noticed that since then the club have had its parking lot boom gate down and have been issuing tickets to cars using its carpark whereas it very rarely did this prior to being told of the finest.
My question is this: do the AFP have the authority to issue parking fines in private car parks without the permission of the carpark owner? I can't find an answer to this online. My friend and i are currently unemployed and I have no idea how I'm going to afford to pay this. I know Im not legally obliged to pay the fine and will have to state that my friend was driving (as I'm sure if I dont I'll likely receive another fine for driving unlicenced), but i still feel compelled to pay at least the majority of the fine given the car is mine and it was at least half my fault for not noticing the disabled sign on the ground when we parked in the spot.
Sorry for driveling on but I am desperate for advice on how best to deal with this. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
