‘We are sorry’: Mansfield Shire Council reveals hundreds of parking fines overcharged over 17 years in major blunder

A Victorian council has apologised for overcharging parking fines for almost two decades, promising it will refund almost $35,000 collected in the blunder.

Mansfield Shire Council, about 240km northeast of Melbourne, will rollout a parking infringement refund scheme after identifying a historical administrative issue that resulted in staff over collecting parking infringement penalties without a formal resolution from council.

The council identified up to 765 parking infringement penalties dating back to 2009, with an estimated $34,588 collected above the default penalty rate.

It may also owe fine recipients up to $10,000 in late fees and legal costs.

The council operated under the Road Safety Act 1986, allowing local government officers to charge between 0.2 and 0.5 penalty unities equating to $41 and $102 fines for 11 specific parking infringements.

It claimed the need for a formal resolution was not adequately communicated to Victorian councils in 2009 or 2019 when the guidelines were changed.

Mansfield Shire Council mayor Steve Rabie said steps were taken to fix the issue as soon as the council became aware of it.

He said the council has records of the incidents and would contact anyone who overpaid a parking fine in Mansfield Shire to issue a refund.

“We are not scared to address errors. We’ve identified an issue and we will fix it. I have every confidence that the current team will work quickly to rectify these legacy issues,” Mr Rabie said.

“We know the community trusts us and we will work to maintain that trust.

“If this has affected anybody – we are sorry.”

Mr Rabie said it was a disappointing situation because it was an avoidable situation.

“These fines are legitimate fines against legitimate parking infringements. Council was permitted to issue infringement penalties at the rate they went out. It’s a small, easy to make and easy to avoid administrative oversight,” he said.

“It’s a small amount of money over many years. Mansfield Shire Council has not sought to make money on parking fines – we use fines to ensure fair use of parking resources for the community as a whole.”

Mr Rabie has stressed the need for clear communication between all levels of government.

“When there are changes to state or federal government policy, and these changes impact local government, they need to be communicated clearly,” he said.

“They can’t be hidden in emails unrelated to the change, they can’t be buried deep within one of the hundreds of government gazettes that go out each year.”