Parking sign

Parking rules

Broken meter or ticket machine

If the meter or ticket machine is broken and cannot show how long you have been there, you are still only entitled to park for the prescribed length of time.

If a patrolling officer has noted the time you parked, they can give you a ticket for overstaying even if the meter is broken.

If the meter won't accept your money and you get a ticket for parking at an expired meter or for not paying your parking fee, note down the number on the meter and report the fault to Council.

Clearways

Clearways exist to improve traffic flow at the busiest times of the day.

A clearway starts at the 'Clearway' sign and ends at the 'End Clearway' sign.

You cannot stop or park your car between those signs during the times specified on the Clearway sign.

As well as fining you, the police can have your car towed away by an authorised operator if the clearway is classified as a 'Tow Away Zone'.

You may have to pay a release fee to get your car back.

Council will not accept responsibility for the inconvenience to you or for any damage to your car during towing.

Intersections

Parking your vehicle too close to an intersection can endanger pedestrians and other drivers by blocking their view of the traffic, and by restricting other drivers' turning space.

You must park at least 10 metres from an intersection.

The 10 metres are measured from the edge of the kerb surrounding the intersection (i.e. at the kerbline), not from the fence or property line which was the case under previous legislation.

Loading zones

You can only stop in a Loading Zone if you are driving either:

  • a truck over three tonnes or a G-classified goods van, or
  • a commercially registered passenger vehicle (bus, taxi or chauffeured hire car), or
  • a courier or delivery vehicle permanently marked in the way specified by the Regulations (see the VicRoads signage instructions for more details), and you are actually loading or delivering goods or picking up or setting down people.

You can't park a truck in a Loading Zone simply because it's a truck.

Motorcycles and scooters

Motorcycles and scooters can be parked on a footpath or a reserve so long as there are no obstructions or hindrances to pedestrians or other drivers.

For more information, view the  VicRoads Guidelines for parking motorcycles and scooters on footpaths (PDF, 36KB).

'No stopping' and 'No parking'

'No Stopping' means no stopping at all, even just stopping to let someone out of the car, and regardless of whether the engine is running and whether the car is occupied.

Stopping in a 'No Stopping' zone during the times specified on the sign is an offence.

The time allowed for stopping in a 'No Parking' area is up to two minutes unless indicated otherwise by the applicable signage (provided you are setting down or picking up a passenger(s) or loading or unloading goods and do not leave the vehicle unattended).

Victorian Road Rules determine that to leave a vehicle unattended the driver must be further than three (3) metres from the closest point of the vehicle.

Parking across private driveways

You must not park across your own or another person's driveway, or so close to the driveway that you stop a vehicle from driving in or out.

When you park in a driveway, you must not block the footpath.

It is an offence to park on any nature strip or median strip.    

Parking correctly

When parallel parking in a two-way street vehicles must be parked on the left-hand side.

The left wheels of the vehicle must be close to the kerb and there must be at least a metre distance between cars parked in front and behind.

The vehicle must park within the marked lines of the parking bay, and must not be parked partly in and partly out of a Parking or No Parking/No Stopping area.

If you park your vehicle and leave it unattended, make sure to turn off the engine, lock the ignition, remove the key and put the brake on, otherwise you will be committing an offence.

An infringement ticket may be given for breaking any of the above noted rules. 

School crossings

Stopping or parking a vehicle too close to a school crossing may mean that a child entering the crossing can't see or be seen by an approaching car.

When a school crossing is in operation (i.e. when the flags are displayed), a vehicle must not stop or park:

  • within 20 metres of the crossing on a two-way street
  • within 20 metres of the crossing on the approach side in a one-way street.

This means that stopping momentarily to let a child out or to pick a child up is an offence.

These restrictions do not apply when flags are not displayed and the crossing is unattended.

However, if there is also a 'No Stopping' or 'No Parking' sign, it must be obeyed at all times. 

Time limits

Time limits are set on parking spaces to allow as many people as possible to have access to an area.

If a vehicle stays longer than the time allowed, a fine may be issued.

Putting more money in the meter does not cancel out the obligation to move after the time limit is up.

You may be given a ticket for each successive period of overstaying. For example, if you park in a two hour spot for over four hours you may receive two tickets. 

Trucks and trailers

Registered trailers or trucks may park on a roadway providing the vehicle does not exceed seven and one half metres in length, or has a gross vehicle mass (i.e. the weight of the vehicle plus it's maximum load) that exceeds four thousand five hundred kilograms.

A trailer or truck exceeding seven and one half metres metres in length, or exceeding 4500 kilograms in gross vehicle mass, is not allowed to be parked within a street for longer than one hour at a time.

Note: The length of the vehicle includes any attachment, therefore a vehicle four metres in length with a four metre trailer attached could only be left parked in a suburban street for a maximum period of one hour at a time.


Page last updated: 30 Jun 2010

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