Perth Parking Levy

Last updated December 28, 2024

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 and a small part of the City of Vincent in Western Australia. The fees are used to fund public transport and active transport within the Perth Parking Management Area, including funding the Perth Central Area Transit (CAT) buses and the free transit zone.

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 in 1999. The goal of the levy was to reduce congestion and pollution within the Perth central business district (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.^[1]

In 2009, the levy on motorcycle bays was eliminated as motorcycles could help with reducing congestion.^[2]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were calls for the Perth Parking Levy to be scrapped due to the pandemic's impact on CBD businesses.^[1] Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas 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.^[3]

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 $24 million from the Perth Parking Levy.^[4]^[5] Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas criticised the changes, saying that the city was "blindsided" and treated with "contempt".^[5]^[6]

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 $54 million to $190 million 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 subject to the Perth Parking Management Act being changed.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

The Perth Parking Management Bill was introduced to the Parliament of Western Australia in August 2023.^[11] It passed both houses of Parliament, and was given the royal assent on 7 March 2024.^[12]

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 and Park Avenue to the west.^[13] There is also a small area to the east in Nedlands and Crawley, 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.^[13]^[7] This covers most of the City of Perth and a small part of the City of Vincent.^[14]

Uses

Perth Central Area Transit buses^[15]
Free transit zone ^[15]
Extensions and improvements to cycle and pedestrian paths^[15]
Road works to improve bus efficiency^[15]
Contribution to the Perth City Deal^[15]

Administration

The Perth Parking Levy is administrated by the Department of Transport. RevenueWA collects the revenue and manages the licencing system for the Department of Transport.^[15]

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.^[15]

Related Research Articles

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth as of 2023. It is part of the South West Land Division of Western Australia, with most of Perth's metropolitan area on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the Swan River, upon which its central business district and port of Fremantle are situated.

The Yanchep line is a suburban railway line and service in Perth, Western Australia, linking the city's central business district (CBD) with its northern suburbs. Operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system, the Yanchep line is 54.5 kilometres (33.9 mi) long and has sixteen stations. It commences in a tunnel under the Perth CBD as a through service with the Mandurah line. North from there, the line enters the median strip of the Mitchell Freeway, where nine of the line's stations are. The Yanchep line diverges from the freeway to serve the centre of Joondalup and permanently leaves the freeway north of Butler for the northernmost four stations to Yanchep.

Perth railway station is the largest station on the Transperth network, serving the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It serves as an interchange between the Airport, Armadale, Ellenbrook, Fremantle, Midland, and Thornlie lines as well as Transwa's Australind service. It is also directly connected to Perth Underground railway station, which has the Yanchep and Mandurah lines.

The Perth Central Area Transit system, or simply CAT, consists of five bus routes in the centre of Perth and three bus routes in Joondalup. CAT services formerly operated in Fremantle, and similar services exist in Rockingham and Midland. Unlike all other Transperth services, most CAT routes are free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Zempilas</span> Australian mayor and media personality

Basil Anthony Zempilas is an Australian television and radio presenter, sports commentator and politician based in Perth, Western Australia. Zempilas presented sport until 2022 on Seven News Perth, Monday to Thursday and from January 2014 until 11 December 2020 co-hosted Perth radio station 6PR's breakfast program with Steve Mills. He is also a member of the Seven Network's AFL football commentary team. Zempilas has commentated on the Olympics and several other major sporting events, was formerly with radio station 92.9 in Perth and has previously been a co-host of Weekend Sunrise. In 2020, Zempilas was elected Lord Mayor of Perth.

Railways in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, have existed since 1881, when the Eastern Railway was opened between Fremantle and Guildford. Today, Perth has eight Transperth suburban rail lines and 94 stations.

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 operations are contracted out to Swan Transit, Path Transit and Transdev. Ferry operations are contracted out to Captain Cook Cruises. Train operations are done by the PTA through their Transperth Train Operations division.

Rita Saffioti is an Australian politician. Representing the Australian Labor Party, she has been the member for the electoral district of West Swan in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia, since 6 September 2008. Since June 2023, she has been the deputy premier of Western Australia, the treasurer of Western Australia, the minister for transport, and the minister for tourism. From March 2017 to June 2023, she was the minister for transport and minister for planning. From March 2021 to June 2023, she was also the minister for ports. From March 2017 to December 2018, she was also the minister for lands.

John Newton Carey is an Australian politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party, Carey has been the member for Perth in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia, since 11 March 2017. Since June 2023, Carey has been the minister for planning, minister for lands, minister for housing, and minister for homelessness. He previously served in other ministries from March 2021 to June 2023. From 19 October 2013 to 30 January 2017, he was the mayor of the City of Vincent.

Alkimos railway station is a suburban rail station in Alkimos, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Situated on Transperth's Yanchep line, the station consists of two side platforms within a cutting below a ground-level concourse, with a bus interchange for feeder bus services.

Eglinton railway station is a suburban rail station in Eglinton, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Situated on Transperth's Yanchep line, the station consists of two side platforms within a cutting below a ground-level concourse, with a bus interchange for feeder bus services.

Yanchep railway station is a suburban rail station in Yanchep, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The station has been the northern terminus of Transperth's Yanchep line since the station opened on 14 July 2024. It consists of three platforms in a cutting below a ground level concourse.

The Ellenbrook line, known as the Morley–Ellenbrook line during construction, is a suburban railway line and service in Perth, Western Australia, which is operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The line branches from the Midland line at Bayswater station and heads north-north-west to serve five stations along a 21.3-kilometre (13.2 mi) route to Ellenbrook. Ellenbrook line services continue west of Bayswater station alongside Midland and Airport line services to terminate at Perth station in the central business district.

Morley railway station is a suburban railway station on the Ellenbrook line in Embleton and Morley, suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. Located in the median strip of Tonkin Highway at the Broun Avenue flyover, Morley station consists of an island platform at ground level with entrances on both sides of the Broun Avenue bridge. A bus interchange is located on the southern side of the bridge and a multi-storey car park is to the south-west.

Ellenbrook railway station is a suburban railway station in Ellenbrook, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The station is the north-eastern terminus of the Ellenbrook line.

Whiteman Park railway station is a suburban railway station on the Ellenbrook line in Perth, Western Australia. The station is located on the western side of Drumpellier Drive in Whiteman, and will serve the surrounding suburbs of Brabham, Dayton, Henley Brook and West Swan, as well as the nature reserve and tourism destination of Whiteman Park.

Lakelands railway station is a railway station along the Mandurah line on the Transperth network in Western Australia. The station is in the Mandurah suburb of Lakelands, 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) north of Mandurah station and 64.5 kilometres (40.1 mi) south of Perth Underground station. Construction started in 2021 and it opened on 11 June 2023.

Buses in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, are run under the Transperth brand. The system is owned and managed by the Public Transport Authority and operations are contracted out to private operators: Swan Transit, Path Transit and Transdev.

Boorloo Bridge is a pedestrian and cycle crossing comprising two cable-stayed bridges that span separate channels of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. These bridges are connected by the pedestrian and cycle path across Heirisson Island that they carry to the East Perth and Victoria Park foreshores.

East Perth Primary School is a proposed primary school set to be located in East Perth, Western Australia. Its establishment aims to alleviate overcrowding in nearby public schools. Scheduled to open in 2029, it will be the first public school built in Perth's central business district in over a century.

References

1 2 Babb, Courtney; Brown, George (28–30 September 2022). The Perth Parking Policy: Towards 25 Years (PDF). Australasian Transport Research Forum 2022.
↑ O'Brien, Simon (10 November 2009). "Motorcyclists get raw deal from the City of Perth" (Press release). Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ "Urgent audit required for Perth Parking Levy". City of Perth. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ Saffioti, Rita (14 February 2023). "State Government to deliver better outcomes for City with changes to Perth Parking Management Act" (Press release). Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
1 2 Zimmerman, Josh (14 February 2023). "$200m from Perth parking fees to be spent on festivals, city activation after State Government overhaul" . The West Australian . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ Hastie, Hamish (14 February 2023). "Zempilas tees off over government's Perth parking tax changes". WAtoday . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
1 2 Bourke, Keane (16 February 2023). "Perth CBD parking levy fund almost tops $200 million as squabble breaks out over how to spend it". ABC News . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ Zimmerman, Josh (16 February 2023). "Perth parking levy report: Auditor says Transport Minister Rita Saffioti wanted funding for WACA pool" . The West Australian. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ Hastie, Hamish (16 February 2023). "Government wanted Perth parking taxes to pay for the WACA swimming pool". WAtoday. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ "Administration of the Perth Parking Levy" (PDF). Office of the Auditor General. 16 February 2023. ISSN 2200-1921 . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ Saffioti, Rita (10 August 2023). "Legislation to improve administration of Perth Parking Levy introduced to WA Parliament" (Press release). Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ "Perth Parking Management Bill 2023". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
1 2 "Perth parking management area" (PDF). Department of Transport. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
↑ "Perth Parking Levy". City of Perth. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Perth parking management". Department of Transport. Retrieved 27 December 2024.