Road rules and safety

Parking

Find out about the rules for how and where you can park your car or other vehicle in Victoria.

This page covers parking road rules for all of Victoria. For parking permits for a particular street, visit your local council.

Parking tips

Obey parking signs.
If the parking bay is marked with lines, park within the lines.
Don't park in a spot that blocks other cars or large vehicles.
Put the park brake on and take your keys with you.
Lock your doors and windows and remove all valuables.
Check for cyclists before opening your vehicle door and, if any are approaching, let them pass before getting out.
When driving out of a parking spot, indicate (if merging or turning), check mirrors and blind spots, and give way to all vehicles and pedestrians on the road.

Parking and stopping rules apply on Victorian roads even if your car has broken down or you have your hazard warning lights on.

Local councils issue most parking tickets. Some enforcement is also undertaken by police. Other authorised agencies also issue some parking tickets.

If you receive a parking ticket and would like to challenge it, check who it is from and refer to their instructions.

You are allowed to park or leave your car:

opposite a driveway as long as you leave three metres beside your car
anywhere in a street where parking is permitted including in front of other homes or businesses.

You can park a motorcycle in the following areas, as long as it doesn’t block pedestrians or other vehicles:

Unless there is a sign saying you can park closer, follow these rules about parking or stopping near certain objects or areas.

Object you're parking near	How far you must park from the object
an intersection with traffic lights a level crossing the approach side of a bus stop, children’s crossing, tram stop sign or pedestrian crossing	20 metres
an intersection without traffic lights a safety zone around a tram stop the approach side (i.e. the left hand side) of pedestrian or bike crossing traffic lights the departure side of a bus stop, children’s crossing, tram stop sign or pedestrian crossing	10 metres
an Australia Post mailbox the departure side of pedestrian or bike crossing traffic lights double line or continuous single line road markings a dividing strip	3 metres
fire hydrant, fire hydrant indicator or fire plug indicator. vehicles in front and behind your car in a parallel parking spot	1 metre

Unless there is a sign saying you can park there, don’t park your car:

in a disabled parking bay (unless you have a valid accessible parking permit)
in an intersection, slip lane, no stopping area, clearway, ‘keep clear’ area, or bus, tram or truck lane
on a freeway (except in an emergency stopping lane)
where there is less than three metres of clear road left for other traffic
on a curve or crest of a hill outside a built-up area, unless your vehicle is visible for 100 metres from behind
on a painted island
next to a continuous yellow line on the edge of the road (curb)
on paths or traffic strips (bicycle paths, footpaths, shared paths, passageway, dividing strips or nature strips) unless allowed by a parking sign
in a double park
fully or partially across a driveway except (for longer than two minutes).

Read more about road signs, including parking signs.

View information on how to share the road with:

The rules for parking are in Part 12 of the Road Safety Road Rules 2017: