Traffic and parking fines (infringements)
If you’ve received a traffic or parking fine (a traffic or parking infringement notice), it means you’ve committed an offence while driving or parking your vehicle. Examples include but aren’t limited to:
- driving over the speed limit
- driving a vehicle with bald tyres
- driving an unregistered vehicle
- parking in a no parking or loading zone
- parking in a permit zone without a permit, for example a spot reserved for people with disability.
Receiving a fine (infringement notice)
The infringement notice tells you what your offence was and what to do next. It can be given to you:
- in person, by a parking inspector or police officer
- on your car, usually placed under your front windscreen wiper
- sent to you in the mail.
Reminders
If you provide your mobile phone number to Access Canberra, you will get an SMS reminder 2 days before the fine (infringement) is due. If you don’t pay it, you will also get an SMS notification 2 days after the deadline.
Make sure your contact details are correct.
View images of the offence
You can find photos of your parking or traffic offence online.
Parking images
To search for images of your parking infringement you'll need:
- the infringement number (on your infringement notice)
- your vehicle's registration number.
The images available through this service are for offences detected by Access Canberra Road Transport authority only.
Traffic images
If you're an organisation or an individual living in the ACT or interstate, you'll need to provide:
- your date of birth (if you are an individual)
- the image identification
- your vehicle's registration number.
You can find the image identification and registration number on your infringement notice.
The images available through this service are for offences detected by ACT Fixed Cameras or Mobile Cameras only.
Find more information about the Mobile Device Detection Camera system on the road safety website.
If you live overseas
For privacy reasons we cannot provide images of offences online if you are not a permanent resident or live overseas.
If you live overseas and you want to access images of an offence you'll need to submit a formal request.
The images can be delivered to you either via email or through postal mail, based on your preference.
Pay or manage your fine (infringement)
From the date the notice of infringement was issued, you have 28 days to:
- find a way to pay the fine (infringement). You could:
- pay your fine (infringement) now
- ask for more time
- apply to pay your fine (infringement) through an agreed plan
- ask to waive the fine (infringement) due to financial hardship.
- manage your infringement. This means you can:
- declare that someone else was responsible for the offence
- ask to withdraw the infringement
- dispute the offence.
If you ignore the notice
You need to address the notification within 28 days.
- If you don’t do anything within 28 days, you’ll receive a reminder notice and a late fee.
- If you don’t do anything by the due date in the reminder notice, you may receive a suspension on your licence, or the vehicle involved in the offence.
- To remove the suspension, you’ll need to either pay or manage the infringement.
Out of time application
An infringement notice is ‘Out of time’ when a warning suspension or suspension confirmation notice has been served.
Use the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form to make an application.
Reasons for 'Out of time' applications, and the evidence you need to submit are:
You were incarcerated
You’ll need to provide a copy of court documents or other documentation proving you were incarcerated from the date you received the infringement notice to the date of the suspension.
You were interstate or overseas
You’ll need to provide relevant passport pages, travel documents, itineraries or other documentation proving you weren’t in the ACT from the date you received the infringement notice to the date of the suspension.
You were in hospital or had a medical issue
You’ll need to provide documents such as an attendant’s certificate, a letter from a health practitioner, hospital paperwork or other documentation proving you were in hospital or had a medical condition that prevented your managing the infringement.
Your mail was stolen
You’ll need to provide a copy of stolen mail report from Australia Post to prove you didn’t receive the notices of infringement.
Declare you or someone else was responsible
You can make a declaration as to who was responsible, if the infringement notice is either:
- in your name, but you weren’t responsible for the offence, or
- in someone else’s name, but you were responsible for the offence.
Transfer responsibility to yourself
If the infringement is in someone else’s name but you were responsible, select the appropriate options in the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form.
Declare a specific person was responsible
If you know the details of the responsible person, complete the infringement notice declaration online.
If the infringement was issued to a corporation, you can transfer it to the responsible driver by completing the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form.
Declare someone else was responsible
If at the time of the offence you had sold the vehicle, reported it stolen, or you don’t know who was responsible, select the appropriate options in the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form.
It is an offence to make a false or misleading statement, give false or misleading information or produce a false or misleading document in relation to this transaction.
Request the infringement is withdrawn
If you believe you have additional information or there were special circumstances that should be considered, you can request the infringement is withdrawn.
Use the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form to make an application.
Access Canberra assesses your application against the Road Transport (General) Withdrawal of Infringement Notices Guidelines.
Reasons for requesting withdrawal, and the evidence you need to submit are:
You have a good parking or driving record
You can request the infringement is withdrawn if you can show a good history of parking and driving.
You will need to explain this in writing and provide evidence to support it.
For parking infringements you’ll need to provide a statutory declaration:
- stating your driver licence number
- the state or territory that issued your licence
- that you have not incurred any parking related offences in the last 5 years.
For traffic infringements, if you’ve not held an ACT driver licence in the last 5 years, you’ll need to get a copy of your driving history from the state or territory that issued your interstate licence.
The offence occurred because of an emergency medical situation
If there was an emergency medical situation or similar event that led to the offence occurring you can request the infringement is withdrawn.
You’ll need to provide one of the following:
- a copy of a hospital record
- a police report
- a confirmation letter signed by a registered health practitioner.
The offence occurred because you were having mechanical issues
If your vehicle broke down or was not operating normally you can request the infringement is withdrawn.
You’ll need to provide documentation such as:
- evidence from roadside assistance
- evidence from a towing company
- a detailed mechanical report.
You may also need to complete a statutory declaration explaining the situation.
You had a valid parking ticket or permit at the time of the offence
If you believe you were not committing an offence when you parked due to having a valid ticket or permit, you’ll need to provide evidence such as:
- a copy of the parking ticket or valid permit
- the number on your ACT Mobility Parking Permit
- a copy of the front and back of your interstate issued Mobility Parking Permit.
If the permit holder was your passenger, they can make a statutory declaration confirming they were in the vehicle at the time of the offence and took steps to display the permit.
Dispute the infringement
You can apply to dispute the infringement if you believe you haven’t committed an offence or weren’t liable for the offence.
Applying to dispute liability means the matter will be heard in court if the infringement is not withdrawn.
Use the Traffic and Parking Infringements Applications form to make an application.
When you complete your application, you must:
- state your grounds for disputing the infringement
- provide any evidence to support your claims.
Access Canberra will register the matter with the ACT Magistrates Court within 60 days.