Parking fines
Introducing Updates to the City’s Regulated Parking Areas from 1 July.
What’s changed?
- The free city centre parking allowance has been reduced from 3 hours to 2 hours
- Hourly parking rates have been updated for both on-street parking and Council-operated off-street car parks
- Bunda Street Car Park will be closing 30 June.
Updates to centre parking signage (from 3P FREE to 2P FREE) are being progressively rolled out and may take a week to complete across approximately 170 signs. Where a 3P FREE sign remains, the existing time limit will continue to apply until the sign has been updated.
For full details, including updated charges, please download the FAQ PDF and review the updated parking maps or go to the webpage linked below:
Parking fines are a way of encouraging the regular turn-over of vehicles to balance the needs of shoppers, workers, diners and visitors.
Payment methods
You can pay your parking fine:
- In person at Council's Customer Service Centre at 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns
- Online
- At an Australia Post office
- By mail to: Cairns Regional Council, PO Box 359, Cairns, QLD, 4870
Parking offences are regulated by Council under Queensland Government legislation and Council by-laws.
If you lose or misplace your parking fine and need the parking fine details, please call us on 1300 69 22 47, email us or or visit our Customer Service Centre at 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns.
Centre bay parking within Cairns CBD is free but has time limits to promote equitable turnover of vehicles. Council uses Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) technology to monitor and enforce parking rules for centre bay parking in Regulated Parking areas. This LPR system uses photographic recognition to record and cross reference licence plate numbers to determine the duration that a vehicle is parked in each individual parking bay.
The LPR technology issues Penalty Infringement Notices via mail in accordance with Section 14 (2) of the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999. Council sends the parking fines to the registered owner of a vehicle to the address which is registered with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR).
The driver of a vehicle has a responsibility to ensure that their registered postal address recorded with the DTMR is updated within 14 days of that change being made to ensure that any correspondence can be received.
You have 28 days from the date of issue to pay a parking fine. If no action is taken within this period, Council will issue Reminder Notices, providing an additional 28 days to respond. Please note that a standard additional fee will apply once a Reminder Notice is issued, as Council must obtain the vehicle owner's name and address from the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
If the fine remains unpaid after the Reminder Notice period, the matter will be referred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) for collection. SPER will take enforcement action and apply additional fees.
If you have received a parking fine and were not the driver of the vehicle when the fine was issued, you can submit a Statutory Declaration ( PDF, 0.19 MB ) to nominate the person who was driving at the time of the offence.
Only the registered owner of the vehicle is allowed to nominate another driver.
To complete this nomination, please submit the completed Statutory Declaration to Council:
- Email to council@cairns.qld.gov.au
- In person at Council's Customer Service Centre at 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns
- Mail to: Cairns Regional Council, PO Box 359, Cairns QLD 4870
The Declaration must be signed and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace (JP) or Commissioner for Declarations, in accordance with legal requirements.
If you have received a parking fine and feel that it was an error or that there were exceptional circumstances, you can apply to have your parking fine reviewed - provided that mandatory supporting evidence is provided.
Before submitting a review application, please be aware that we are not able to review a parking fine if it has already been paid or if the payment due date has passed.
Visit the Appeal your parking fine webpage for more information.
If you have received a parking fine, you can request a court hearing to have the matter decided in the Magistrates Court.
Your court hearing request must be received within 28 days from the date of issue on the infringement notice. A prosecution against you may then be commenced in the Magistrates Court.
If you request a court hearing, you are responsible for obtaining your own legal advice.
To request a court hearing, you can either:
- submit the request in writing, ensuring you quote the infringement number; or
- complete the required information on the back of the infringement notice and mail it as per the instructions.
If the magistrate finds that you are guilty of the original offence, you may be liable for court costs in addition to the original fine. This could include the cost of the complaint and summons, an offender levy and any other court ordered costs.
If you do not appear on the date of the hearing, the offence may be heard in your absence.
Alternatively, you can pay the fine to resolve the matter.
Parking fines are a way of encouraging the regular turn-over of vehicles to balance the needs of shoppers, workers, diners and visitors.
Council reviews its fines each year. Below are the some of the fines for the 2025-26 financial year.
| Type of park | Infringement | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket (pay and display) |
| $100 |
| Time restricted (1P, 2P, 3P, etc) | Staying longer than allowed | $100 |
| Loading zone | Staying longer than allowed | $200 |
| Commercial loading zone |
Staying longer than allowed Parking without a permit |
$200 $200 |
| No stopping and No parking |
| $200 |
| Bus zone (unless time limited) | Stopping at any time | $250 |
| Accessible (disabled) parking | Parking without a valid permit displayed | $667 |
| Taxi zone | Stopping at any time | $200 |
| Parallel park | Parking your vehicle facing oncoming traffic | $100 |
| Centre bay | Reversing out of a centre bay | $200 |
Additional fees
If you do not pay your parking fee on time you will be sent a reminder notice. There is a standard late fee of $18.50, although this may be higher if you are registered in another state or territory.
If you have not settled your infringement within 56 days, the matter will be referred to SPER (State Penalties Enforcement Register) with additional costs.
Disputed fines
If you believe your parking fine is unjustified, you can apply to waive the fine (see below).
Invalid reasons
Drivers are reminded that they are responsible for ensuring their vehicle is parked according to signage. Council will not waive a fee for:
| TYPE OF FINE | INVALID REASON |
|---|---|
Ticket machines |
|
Accessible parking spaces | Parking in an accessible space without displaying a valid accessible parking permit |
Commercial vehicle loading zone | Not displaying a valid commercial vehicle permit from Cairns Regional Council |
Continuous parking | Vehicle parked longer than the time limit specified |
Bus zone | Any vehicle not classified as a bus |
Taxi zone | Any vehicle other than a taxi |
No parking anytime | Stopping in a no parking zone longer than 2 minutes and driver not present at vehicle |
No stopping anytime |
|
Last Updated: 1 July 2026
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