21 January 2022
IR-01-22-142
Cody C
[FYI request #18080 email]
Dear Cody
I refer to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 3 January 2022 for
information about Police’s enforcement of stationary vehicle offences.
You requested:
Can you please provide some background to how Police monitor and enforce
parking offences, such as your Stationary vehicle enforcement policy or similar (if
exists) and any MOUs with TAs (if exists).
Local councils are primarily responsible for the enforcement of parking regulations. Initial
calls of complaint from members of the public, if received by Police, will be directed to
their respective local council. On rare occasions police officers may attend and carry out
enforcement after taking into consideration the time, place, circumstance, and whether
the matter relates to road safety. An example of this may be having a vehicle moved that
is otherwise parked in a way that obstructs a busy road and poses a safety risk to others.
Police has no policy specific to parking offences. This part of your request is therefore
refused pursuant to section 18(e) of the OIA as the document alleged to contain the
information requested does not exist. The only relevant policy is the ‘Stationary vehicle
offence infringement notice (SVOIN)’ section from the ‘Offence notices’ chapter of the
Police Manual. I have included a copy of this with my response.
There is no existing Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement between Police
and local authorities on the enforcement of parking regulations. Accordingly, this
information is also refused pursuant to section 18(e) of the OIA as the document alleged
to contain the information requested does not exist.
If you are not satisfied with my response, you have the right, under section 28(3) of the
OIA, to ask the Ombudsman to review my decisions. Information on how to do this is
available online at
ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Yours sincerely
Superintendent Steve Greally
Director: National Road Policing Centre
Police National Headquarters 180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
Offence notices
Stationary vehicle offence infringement notice (SVOIN)
When to issue a SVOIN
A SVION is used for all parking infringements or when a vehicle is parked and has any or all of the following:
‑ a smooth, worn or damaged tyre
‑ no warrant of fitness or certificate of fitness
‑ no current vehicle licence label displayed
‑ the registration plates incorrectly attached, or not attached at all
‑ no red marker light at night on goods service vehicles
‑ unauthorised, deceptive or obscured registration plates.
Note: If a vehicle has no licence plates attached and no licence label displayed, a SVION cannot be issued.
Completing a SVOIN
Write a summary and/or draw a diagram on the back of the notice so that an adjudicator has sufficient
information to understand and action the offence.
Note: Only one offence can be recorded for each SVION.
Serving a SVOIN
A SVION is legally served when it is either:
‑ placed on the vehicle; handed to the driver or owner; or
‑ posted.
When. . .
then. . .
placing it on a vehicle,
put it under the window wiper on the driver’s side, facing into the car.
handing it to the driver,
obtain the driver’s full identifying particulars.
Towing fees
Use these towing fees as scheduled in the Land Transport (Storage and Towage Fees for Impounded
Vehicles) Regulations 1999 when completing a SVION.
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Offence notices
If the vehicle gross
then the penalty is a tow fee not exceeding…
weight is…
3,500 kg or less
‑ $53.67, where the towage takes place between 7am and 6pm Monday to
Friday (other than a public holiday), or
‑ $71.56 where the towage takes place at any other time.
more than 3,500 kg
‑ $132.89, where the towage takes place between 7am and 6pm Monday to
Friday (other than a public holiday), or
‑ $204.44, where the towage takes place at any other time.
Note: Additional charges may apply if the vehicle is towed more than 10km.
Things to note in respect of towing fees
If. . .
then. . .
the vehicle is to be towed away after the add the towing fee in the appropriate space on the front of the
SVION is issued
notice. Note any damage to the vehicle and any property inside it.
the driver returns to the vehicle at any the towing fee is still payable.
time after the tow truck has been called
Parking offences and fees
The infringement fee is additional to any towage fee. Local authorities may set the fee at a lesser amount
than that prescribed. Refer to the Legislative Reference Table (LRT ‐ Code Book).
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