Private parking operators in Queensland will be denied access to vehicle registration information after complaints to the office of Transport and Main Roads.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey said “predatory companies” had exploited a loophole to issue fines to drivers overstaying their time.
Existing regulations have allowed private parking operators to access registration details, including names and addresses, when it is considered to be the first step of litigation.
“What we’ve seen is some predatory companies issuing what looked like fines, and are actually not fines, to people for overstaying in car parks,” Mr Bailey said on Tuesday.
“And the way it’s been done has been, to be quite frank, it’s been a real rip off and it’s been something that’s trying to exploit people rather than managing car parks.”
From Monday, companies will no longer be able to access information under a legislative provision designed for car crashes or similar incidents – where it is an offence not to provide details.
Some companies had used the provision to access information just to issue fines, with no intention of going to court, Mr Bailey said.
“It’s been a case of not operating in good faith and using a loophole,” he said.
“What we’ll be doing is preventing that from occurring next Monday and will be seeking to reform the regulations so that you require a court order to get access to that information.”
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