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The purpose of this Act is to impose a levy on parking spaces in the central business district and inner Melbourne to reduce traffic congestion and to amend the Taxation Administration Act 1997.
This Act comes into operation on 1 January 2006.
In this Act—
car park means premises or part of premises in the levy area that contain one or more parking spaces;
S. 3(1) def. of category 1 levy area inserted by No. 34/2014 s. 3(a).
category 1 levy area has the meaning given in Schedule 1;
S. 3(1) def. of category 2 levy area inserted by No. 34/2014 s. 3(a).
category 2 levy area has the meaning given in Schedule 1;
S. 3(1) def. of common areas inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
common areas, of a retail shopping centre, means the areas in or adjacent to the centre that are used or intended for use by the public, or in common by occupiers of premises in the centre for the carrying on of businesses on those premises, and includes any of the following in or adjacent to the centre—
stairways, escalators and elevators;
malls and walkways;
parking areas;
toilets and restrooms;
gardens and fountains;
information, entertainment, community and leisure facilities;
CPI adjusted levy has the meaning given in section 11;
S. 3(1) def. of domestic partner inserted by No. 68/2007 s. 3(1), substituted by No. 4/2009 s. 37(Sch. 1 item 5.1).
domestic partner of a person means—
a person who is in a registered domestic relationship with the person; or
a person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis (irrespective of gender);
exempt parking space means a parking space declared by or under Part 4 to be an exempt parking space;
S. 3(1) def. of expanded category 2 levy area inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
expanded category 2 levy area means the category 2 levy area excluding the initial category 2 levy area;
S. 3(1) def. of Government school inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
Government school has the same meaning as in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006;
S. 3(1) def. of Government school boarding premises inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
Government school boarding premises has the same meaning as in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006;
S. 3(1) def. of GST inserted by No. 68/2007 s. 3(1).
GST has the same meaning as it has in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth except that it includes notional GST of the kind for which payments may be made under Part 3 of the National Taxation Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 by a person that is a State entity within the meaning of that Act;
S. 3(1) def. of initial category 2 levy area inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
initial category 2 levy area has the same meaning as category 2 levy area had in this Act immediately before 1 January 2026;
S. 3(1) def. of leviable parking space amended by No. 41/2013 s. 4(1)(a).
leviable parking space means a parking space in a car park that is not an exempt parking space;
levy means the levy imposed by section 8;
S. 3(1) def. of levy area substituted by No. 34/2014 s. 3(b).
levy area means the area described in Schedule 1, comprising the category 1 levy area and the category 2 levy area;
levy year means a year for which the levy is being assessed;
S. 3(1) def. of long stay parking space repealed by No. 41/2013 s. 4(1)(b).
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motor vehicle does not include a motor cycle;
operator of a public car park means a person who is not the owner of the premises on which the car park is situated but who operates the car park under a lease, licence or other arrangement;
owner of premises means—
a person who holds a freehold interest in the land on which the premises are situated;
if the premises are on Crown land—
if the land is unalienated Crown land—the Crown;
if the Crown has granted a lease or licence over the land—the lessee or licensee of the land;
S. 3(1) def. of parking space amended by No. 48/2025 s. 11(b).
parking space means—
a space set aside for the parking of a motor vehicle, whether or not the space is used for the parking of a motor vehicle and whether or not the space is permanently delineated as such; or
a space used for the parking of a motor vehicle, whether or not the space is permanently delineated as such—
but does not include a space that is part of the carriageway of any street, road or lane open to or used by the public or a space that is used exclusively for the parking of a motor vehicle for residential purposes (including a temporary stay in a hotel, serviced apartment or club that provides accommodation);
premises includes vacant land;
private car park means a car park or part of a car park that is not a public car park;
public car park means a car park the predominant number of parking spaces in which are set aside for, or used by, the general public, whether on a casual basis or under any kind of longer-term arrangement, but does not include part of a car park determined by the Commissioner under subsection (2) not to be a public car park;
S. 3(1) def. of relative inserted by No. 68/2007 s. 3(1).
relative, in relation to a person, means—
a spouse or domestic partner of the person;
a lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the person or of the spouse or domestic partner of the person;
a brother or sister of the person or of the spouse or domestic partner of the person;
a spouse or domestic partner of a person in paragraph (b) or (c);
a child of a brother or sister of the person or of the spouse or domestic partner of the person;
a brother or sister of a parent of the person or of the spouse or domestic partner of the person;
S. 3(1) def. of retail premises inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
retail premises means premises used wholly or predominantly for—
the sale or hire of goods by retail; or
the retail provision of services;
S. 3(1) def. of retail shopping centre inserted by No. 48/2025 s. 11(a).
retail shopping centre means a cluster of premises that has all of the following attributes—
at least 5 of the premises are retail premises;
the premises are all owned by the same person or have (or would have if leased) the same landlord or the same head landlord;
the premises are located—
in a single building; or
in 2 or more buildings that are—
adjoining; or
separated only by common areas or other areas owned by the owner of the premises; or
separated only by a road;
the cluster of premises is promoted as, or generally regarded as constituting, a shopping centre, shopping mall, shopping court or shopping arcade;
S. 3(1) def. of spouse inserted by No. 68/2007 s. 3(1).
spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;
working day means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday appointed under the Public Holidays Act 1993;
S. 3(1) def. of Yarra Park Reserve inserted by No. 34/2014 s. 3(a).
Yarra Park Reserve has the same meaning as in the Melbourne (Yarra Park) Land Act 1980;
year means a calendar year.
The Commissioner may determine that part of a car park is not a public car park for the purposes of this Act if satisfied that the part is set aside or used for parking by an owner or a tenant of the premises on which the car park is situated.
S. 3(3) inserted by No. 68/2007 s. 3(2), substituted by No. 4/2009 s. 37(Sch. 1 item 5.2).
For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)—
registered domestic relationship has the same meaning as in the Relationships Act 2008; and
in determining whether persons who are not in a registered domestic relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account, including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2) of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case.
S. 4 repealed by No. 41/2013 s. 4(2).
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If premises contain any parking spaces that are not individually delineated by permanently marked lines, the number of those parking spaces is the number obtained by dividing the total area occupied by those parking spaces by 25⋅2 square metres and disregarding any remainder.
For the avoidance of doubt, the number of parking spaces determined in accordance with subsection (1) is in addition to the number of parking spaces on the premises that are individually delineated by permanently marked lines.
For the purposes of this Act, a sign or temporary barrier purporting to indicate that a space is not a parking space is not, of itself, evidence that the space is not a parking space.
This Act is to be read together with the Taxation Administration Act 1997 which provides for the administration and enforcement of this Act and other taxation laws.
This Act binds the Crown in right of Victoria and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
Nothing in this Act makes the Crown in any of its capacities liable to be prosecuted for an offence.
This Act imposes a levy each year in respect of each leviable parking space.
The owner of premises is liable to pay the levy imposed on leviable parking spaces on the premises.
In the case of a public car park, the operator of the public car park is jointly and severally liable with the owner of the premises to pay the levy imposed on leviable parking spaces in the public car park.
S. 10 amended by Nos 22/2007 s. 3, 41/2013 s. 5, substituted by No. 34/2014 s. 4.
The amount of the levy for a levy year is set out in the following table.
S. 10 (Table) amended by No. 48/2025 s. 12.
Table
Column 1
| Column 2 Amount of levy for each leviable parking space in the category 1 levy area | Column 3 Amount of levy for each leviable parking space in the category 2 levy area |
|---|
2014 | $1300 | Nil |
2015 | The CPI adjusted levy for 2015 | $950 |
2016 and each subsequent year before 2026 | The CPI adjusted levy for that year | The CPI adjusted levy for that year |
2026 | $3030 | $2150 |
2027 and each subsequent year | The CPI adjusted levy for that year | The CPI adjusted levy for that year |
S. 11(1) amended by Nos 34/2014 s. 5(1), 44/2014 s. 33(Sch. item 7(1)).
The CPI adjusted levy for a levy year is to be determined in accordance with the following formula—
where—
C is the CPI adjusted levy being determined for a leviable parking space in the category 1 levy area or category 2 levy area (as the case requires), rounded down to the nearest 2 decimal places;
L is the amount of the levy for the previous levy year for a leviable parking space in the category 1 levy area or category 2 levy area (as the case requires);
A is the sum of—
the consumer price index number for the last reference period in the calendar year preceding the previous levy year; and
the total of the consumer price index numbers for each of the reference periods (other than the last) in the previous levy year;
B is the sum of—
the consumer price index number for the last reference period in the calendar year one year earlier than the calendar year referred to in A; and
the total of the consumer price index numbers for each of the reference periods (other than the last) in the calendar year referred to in paragraph (a).
Example to s. 11(1) substituted by No. 34/2014 s. 5(2).
Example
In the case of a determination of the CPI adjusted levy for 2016, "L" is the amount of the levy for 2015, "A" is the sum of the consumer price index numbers for December 2014, March 2015, June 2015 and September 2015 and "B" is the sum of the consumer price index numbers for December 2013, March 2014, June 2014 and September 2014.
S. 11(2) substituted by No. 44/2014 s. 33(Sch. item 7(2)).
The CPI adjusted levy determined under subsection (1) is to be rounded up or down to the nearest $10 and, if the amount of the CPI to be adjusted is an exact multiple of $5, is to be rounded up.
S. 11(3) substituted by No. 44/2014 s. 33(Sch. item 7(2)).
In this section—
consumer price index means the all groups consumer price index for Melbourne in original terms last published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or, if the regulations prescribe another economic index for the purposes of this section, that other index) as at 15 November immediately preceding the date on which the Commissioner publishes the CPI adjusted levy under section 12.
S. 12(1) amended by No. 34/2014 s. 6.
The Commissioner must publish the CPI adjusted levy for a levy year for leviable parking spaces in the category 1 levy area and for leviable parking spaces in the category 2 levy area on an appropriate website on or before 1 December in the previous year.
A failure to comply with subsection (1) in respect of a levy year does not affect the operation of section 11 in respect of the levy payable for that year.
An owner of premises on 1 January in a year is to be assessed for the levy for that year on each space on that premises that existed as a leviable parking space at any time in the previous year.
Subsection (1) applies—
whether or not the space exists as a leviable parking space on 1 January in the levy year;
whether or not the owner was the owner of the premises at the time the space existed as a leviable parking space.
The operator of a public car park on 1 January in a year is to be assessed for the levy on each space that existed as a leviable parking space in that car park at any time in the previous year.
Note
Section 9(2) provides that the owner and the occupier are jointly and severally liable for the levy.
S. 13(4) substituted by No. 34/2014 s. 7.
Schedule 2 contains special provisions for the assessment of the levy for 2015 for leviable parking spaces in the category 2 levy area.
Note to s. 13 inserted by No. 41/2013 s. 6.
Note
See section 40 for the application of this section to the levy for 2014.
Ss 14, 15 repealed by No. 41/2013 s. 7.
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Part 4—Exemptions and concessions
Division 1—Exempt parking spaces
S. 16 amended by No. 41/2013 s. 8(1), repealed by No. 48/2025 s. 13.
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