The Perth Parking Levy is an annual fee paid by the owners of non-residential parking bays within the Perth Parking Management Area, which covers most of the

City of Perth The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...

and a small part of the

City of Vincent The City of Vincent is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and lies about 3 km from the Perth CBD. The City of Vincent maintains 139&nb ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The fees are used to fund

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

and

active transport In cellular biology, active transport is the movement of molecules or ions across a cell membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration—against the concentration gradient. Active transport requires cellula ...

within the Perth Parking Management Area, including funding the Perth Central Area Transit (CAT) buses and the

free transit zone Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

History

The proposed Perth Parking Levy was endorsed by state cabinet in 1996. The Perth Parking Management Act was introduced to the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

in 1999. The goal of the levy was to reduce congestion and pollution within the

Perth central business district Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(CBD). The levy was criticised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia and the Perth Property Council though, who claimed that the levy would prevent investment in the city and stop people from visiting the CBD. Despite that, the Perth Parking Management Act was passed by Parliament in 1999, and it came into operation on 19 July 1999. In 2009, the levy on motorcycle bays was eliminated as motorcycles could help with reducing congestion. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, there were calls for the Perth Parking Levy to be scrapped due to the pandemic's impact on CBD businesses. Perth Lord Mayor

Basil Zempilas Basil Anthony Zempilas (; born 30 July 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party and the member for Churchlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, serving in both roles since March ...

has been critical of increases in the Perth Parking Levy, claiming that it negatively impacts small businesses and retailers and disincentivises people from visiting the Perth central business district. In July 2021, he requested that the auditor general examine the state government's management of the Perth Parking Levy. On 14 February 2023, the state government announced plans to change the Perth Parking Management Act to allow the Perth Parking Levy to fund not just transport projects, but "any initiative or project that delivers positive social and economic outcomes and that activate the Perth central area". Other changes included allowing the levy to fund projects outside the Perth Parking Management Area and giving greater flexibility for the levy to be waived under extraordinary circumstances. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti gave the example of the Causeway Cycling and Pedestrian Bridge, which was only able to receive $24million from the Perth Parking Levy. Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas criticised the changes, saying that the city was "blindsided" and treated with "contempt". Two days later, the auditor general released its report into the Perth Parking Levy, saying that the state government has failed to adequately consult the City of Perth on how to spend the money in the levy's account as required under the legislation, which has resulted in the account balance ballooning from $54million to $190million over the previous five years. The report also found that in October 2021, the Transport Minister had given conditional approval for $600,000 from the levy to be spent on a swimming pool at the

WACA Ground The WACA Ground () is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA). The WACA has been referred to as Western Australia' ...

subject to the Perth Parking Management Act being changed. The Perth Parking Management Bill was introduced to the Parliament of Western Australia in August 2023. It passed both houses of Parliament, and was given the

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 7 March 2024.

Perth Parking Management Area

The boundary of the Perth Parking Management Area is the Swan River to the south and east, Summers Street, Lord Street, Parry Street, Lindsay Street and Newcastle Street to the north, Thomas Street,

Winthrop Avenue Winthrop Avenue is a major north–south road in the Perth suburbs of Nedlands and Crawley. For most of its length, the road travels alongside the south-western edge of Kings Park, connecting Thomas Street with Stirling Highway, Mounts Bay R ...

and Park Avenue to the west. There is also a small area to the east in Nedlands and

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

, which covers the route of the Purple CAT and does not include any parking bays. This area was added to the Perth Parking Management Area when the Purple CAT route commenced to get around the rule that the Perth Parking Levy must only fund projects within the Perth Parking Management Area. This covers most of the

and a small part of the

Uses

* Perth Central Area Transit buses *

Free transit zone Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

* Extensions and improvements to cycle and pedestrian paths * Road works to improve bus efficiency * Contribution to the Perth City Deal

Administration

The Perth Parking Levy is administrated by the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. RevenueWA collects the revenue and manages the licencing system for the Department of Transport.

Rates

As of 2024, the fees per annum are $1,278.20 for each non-residential parking bay, $1,223.20 for each long stay public parking bay, $1,124.60 for each short stay public parking bay and $1,124.60 for each on-street parking bay. There are no fees for motorcycle bays. The levy is only paid for properties which have six or more parking bays, although owners of properties with five or fewer parking bays must still obtain a parking licence.

History

Perth Parking Management Area

Uses

Administration

Rates

References

Further reading