The City of Melbourne works to ensure the smooth flow of traffic through the city, and to ensure all road users have access to public roads.
Council will tow vehicles if they are:
- parked in a clearway
- obstructing an access way
- considered abandoned.
Clearways
A clearway is a signed area that does not allow vehicles to stop during designated clearway hours. Clearways are important to improve traffic flow on congested roads at certain times of the day. Just one vehicle parked in a clearway renders it ineffective.
Several clearways within the municipality are designated 'Clearway Tow Away Zones'. These are marked by a 'control' sign (see example below). If your vehicle is parked in a Clearway Tow Away Zone, you will be issued with a Parking Infringement Notice (PIN) and your vehicle will be towed away as soon as possible.
Please make sure to read signs carefully as misreading the sign will not exempt you from paying a PIN.
Examples of clearway signs
Examples of clearway control signs
Obstructing an access way
Your vehicle is considered to be 'obstructing' if it is parked in an area preventing vehicle access, such as a driveway or laneway.
If your vehicle is obstructing traffic, you will be issued with a PIN and your vehicle will be towed away as soon as possible.
Abandoned vehicles
If your vehicle is parked on the street and is unregistered, it is considered abandoned.
It is illegal for unregistered vehicles to be left on the road and will be towed away within 48 hours of identification. Council will write to the last known owner of the vehicle prior to towing it, and again if it is impounded.
You can also report an abandoned vehicle online.
Impound storage yard
If your vehicle is towed because it was in a Clearway Tow Away Zone or obstructing an access way, you can collect it from Nationwide Towing and Transport's Towing Impound Yard:
Address: 34 Cromwell Street, Collingwood
Phone: (03) 9621 1525
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 6.30am to 9pm; Saturday, 8am to 1pm and closed on Sundays
Requirements for vehicle collection
Payment of towing and impound fees and proof of driver's licence
Storage fees are charged on a daily basis after your vehicle has been impounded for more than 48 hours. If you have not collected your vehicle from the yard within 10 days, it will be towed to an auction yard in Dandenong (see below).
If your vehicle was towed because it was abandoned, or you did not collect your vehicle while it was at the impound yard, you must pay for the release of your vehicle at the Town Hall from 7.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday. You can then collect it from Nationwide Towing and Transport's Auction Yard:
Address: 6 Ashburn Place, Blackburn
Phone: 134 869
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 9am to 4pm; Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Requirements for vehicle collection:
- Payment of towing and impound fees (at the Town Hall)
- Proof of driver's licence
- Proof of registration or ownership of vehicle
Costs/fees
PINs are to be paid within 28 days, and towing fees are paid upon collection of your vehicle.
Fines and storage fees (as at 1 July 2011) are:
- $122 parking infringement for parking in a clearway/Clearway Tow Away Zone
- $73 parking infringement for obstructing access to private property
- $322 towing release fee
- $11 per business day storage fees (maximum $77) if a vehicle is not collected from the impound yard in Collingwood after 48 hours
- An additional towing fee of $322 is payable if the vehicle has been towed from the impound yard in Collingwood to the auction yard in Dandenong. There may also be additional storage fees applicable at the Dandenong auction yard.
In some extreme cases, towing fees may be waived or you may be eligible for a reduced fee. Documented evidence is required to back up any claims. Please contact the impound yard for more information.
If you have already paid and would like Council to consider refunding the fees, please write to Council including documented evidence to support your claim. Send correspondence to:
Towing Fee Appeal - Parking and Traffic
City of Melbourne
PO Box 1063
Melbourne VIC 3001
Complaints
If you have a complaint in relation to the towing process, damage to your vehicle, staff conduct or any other issue, you can make a written complaint to Nationwide Towing, by writing to:
Nationwide Towing and Transport
10 Ashburn Place
Blackburn VIC 3130
Website: Nationwide Towing and Transport