Randwick City Council will switch to a new, streamlined approach to issuing penalty notices, starting Wednesday 3 February 2021. This new system will provide recipients with more information about the infringement as well as subsequent actions available to them and will reduce the number of confrontations between recipients and Council officers.

Shopper docket-style infringement notices will no longer be left on car windshields or handed to the recipient.

Instead, the “Print and Post” system will see a clear and informative infringement letter mailed to recipients by Revenue NSW. This will apply to all offences relating to parking, companion animals, health, building or environmental regulations.

Rangers will be equipped with handheld devices that will record the details of the offence as well as any relevant images, which is uploaded to Revenue NSW. The following day Revenue NSW will create the penalty notice and send to the recipient within 2 to 3 days. The letter will detail how recipients can access further information, including photos, via the Revenue NSW website.

The handheld devices will note whether a vehicle has already been issued a Penalty Notice on the same day at the same location for the same offence to avoid duplication.

When trialled in Burwood Council from May to July 2020, the Print and Post system resulted in a reduction of complaints to Council, likely due to the more informative nature of the notices, and a reduction in conflict, abuse and aggression experienced by staff.

Since July 2020 Randwick City staff have experienced 28 serious incidents of verbal or physical assault while performing ranger duties. These were reported to both Council and NSW Police.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has this change occurred?

Revenue NSW recognised an opportunity to improve some identified issues. This includes:

• Recipients being confused about shopper docket style penalty notices with limited and inconsistent information;
• Penalty notices being removed by unknown parties, leaving recipients unaware they had been fined until receiving a reminder notice and experiencing reduced time to act; and
• Administration costs incurred by councils when sending out letters.

What are the benefits?

• Consistency - recipients receive all information on a standardised Penalty Notice in order to make informed decisions and act;
• Safety of council staff - removing the physical placement of a fine on vehicles and subsequent recipient confrontation leads to a safer environment for council staff; and
• Significant reduction in administration time and cost for council.

What is the turn around time from when the infringement is reported to Revenue NSW to when the notice is posted?

This varies depending on any data corrections or errors and time of day that the infringement is uploaded, but generally it is within 2 to 3 days. Revenue NSW is continually working to reduce this.