Drivers who paid certain parking fines in Victoria’s Baw Baw Shire are being encouraged to check their records after the council admitted it overcharged motorists for more than 17 years and launched a refund scheme. The issue stems from an administrative error dating back almost 25 years, with eligible drivers now able to reclaim the overcharged portion of fines issued between 2002 and 2025.
While the parking infringements themselves remain legally valid, Baw Baw Shire Council says some motorists paid more than they should have under Victorian law. Depending on when the infringement was issued, eligible applicants could receive a partial refund of between $13.50 and $61.
The announcement affects not only residents but also visitors who may have received parking tickets while travelling through West Gippsland, shopping in towns such as Drouin and Warragul, or visiting Mt Baw Baw and surrounding attractions.
Who can apply for a parking fine refund?
The refund scheme covers two separate periods during which incorrect parking penalty amounts were applied:
- 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2010
- 1 July 2016 to 4 August 2025
Drivers may be eligible if their parking infringement:
- Was issued within Baw Baw Shire Council.
- Falls into one of the affected parking offence categories.
- Was registered with Fines Victoria.
- Has been paid in full.
The council has opened an application process allowing eligible motorists to request refunds. Details, eligibility requirements and application forms are available through the official Baw Baw Shire Council Parking Infringement Refund Scheme.
Parking infringements issued on or after 5 August 2025 are not affected because the council says the administrative issue was corrected from that date.
How much money can drivers receive?
The refund is not a cancellation of the parking fine. Instead, the council will repay only the portion that exceeded the legally authorised amount.
Depending on the infringement date and offence type, eligible motorists can receive between $13.50 and $61. Drivers who paid multiple eligible fines during the affected years may qualify for more than one refund.
Baw Baw Shire Council has emphasised that the original parking offences remain enforceable. Because the infringements have already been paid, motorists cannot use the refund process to reopen appeals or seek another review of the original offence.
Parking offences included in the refund scheme
The council says seven common parking infringements are covered by the refund program:
- Parking longer than indicated.
- Parking contrary to the requirements of the parking area.
- Failing to comply with angle parking requirements.
- Failing to comply with 90-degree angle parking.
- Parking outside a marked parking bay.
- Parking a long vehicle exceeding the minimum number of bays.
- Stopping contrary to a no-parking sign.
These are routine parking offences that affect both residents and visitors, meaning the refund scheme could apply to motorists who only visited the region once many years ago.
Why were some drivers overcharged?
The issue relates to how councils set parking penalties under Victoria’s Road Safety Act 1986.
For certain lower-level parking offences, Victorian councils can charge between 0.2 and 0.5 penalty units. However, before charging the higher amount, a council must formally approve that rate through a council resolution.
Baw Baw Shire Council later discovered that this administrative step had not been completed for the affected periods. As a result, some motorists were charged the higher penalty when the lower amount should have applied.
Rather than cancelling the infringements, the council is refunding only the difference between the amount collected and the amount that should have been charged.
Why the issue matters beyond one council
The Baw Baw refund scheme is the second high-profile Victorian case this year involving incorrectly applied parking penalties. Earlier in 2026, Mansfield Shire Council announced a similar refund program after uncovering an administrative issue affecting parking fines dating back to 2009.
The two cases illustrate how technical administrative requirements can have long-term financial consequences for motorists. They also highlight the importance of councils regularly reviewing compliance with legislation governing parking infringements.
Refund schemes have also emerged in other Australian consumer matters where organisations were found to have charged customers incorrectly. Readers interested in similar refund cases can also read how JB Hi-Fi agreed to provide $250,000 in customer refunds after an ACCC investigation into misleading discounts.
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What drivers should do next
Anyone who received a parking fine in Baw Baw Shire during the affected periods should check old infringement notices or payment records before assuming they are ineligible. Even relatively small refunds can add up for motorists who paid multiple parking fines over the years.
Applicants should have any available infringement numbers, payment details and personal information ready before beginning the refund process. The council will verify each application against its records before determining whether a refund is payable.
Although the repayments are modest, the scheme represents an acknowledgment that public authorities must apply parking penalties in accordance with the law. For eligible drivers, reviewing old parking fines could be worthwhile if it results in recovering money that should never have been collected in the first place.
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