Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Amendment Determination 2026
Authority
The Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Amendment Determination 2026 (Amendment Determination) is made under subsection 96(1) of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT) (Cth), as that provision is applied to National Land by the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025 (Ordinance) and the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025 (Rules).
Purpose
With effect from 1 July 2025, the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Determination (No. 2) 2025 (No. 2 Determination) determined, amongst other things, the fees payable for parking and parking permits in a ticket parking area, and for parking permits for an open area accessible to the public, that form part of a ticket parking scheme established by the Minister (or their delegate) under section 35 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017 (ACT) (Cth).
The purpose of the Amendment Determination is to amend from, 1 July 2026, the No. 2 Determination by:
- increasing the hourly, daily and weekly parking fee rates by $0.20, $0.50 and $2.50, respectively, and
- amending the title of the No. 2 Determination to the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Determination 2026.
The fee amounts set in the Amendment Determination are determined with reference to the fee amounts set in ACT road transport law. The Australian Government’s objective is to align, as far as practicable, with the ACT Government in respect of road transport and parking, to ensure that parking rules are as consistent across the ACT as possible. The Amendment Determination will support that objective by ensuring that fees for parking and parking permits on National Land are consistent with fees for parking under ticket parking schemes operated by the ACT Government in the rest of the ACT.
The amendment to the title of the No. 2 Determination will better facilitate future compilations of that determination.
Background
The National Capital Authority (NCA) is established by section 27 of the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988. One of its functions is, with the approval of the Minister administering Part II of that Act, to manage National Land designated as land required for the special purposes of Canberra as the National Capital - also referred to as the ‘National Capital Estate’ (see section 5 and paragraph 6(1)(g) of that Act).
An Intergovernmental Committee on Parking was established in 2009 and found that, while planning policies used to guide development of the National Capital Estate provided enough car parking spaces to meet commuter demand, restrictions on access to the available parking resulted in an undersupply of publicly available car parks. Consequently, pay parking was introduced as a parking management practice.
The issues impacting access to available parking spaces found by the Intergovernmental Committee on Parking still exist today and therefore pay parking on National Land is maintained as a parking management practice. Currently, pay parking applies to around 9,000 car parking spaces on the National Land (in the Parkes, Barton, Acton, and Russell precincts).
The Ordinance and Rules establish a legislative framework for the management of pay parking on National Land. Specifically, subsection 8(1) of the Ordinance provides that the Rules may apply, to all or part of the National Land, specified ACT road transport laws, with or without modification, including any offences created by those laws and any provisions of those a contravention of which is punishable by a pecuniary penalty (however described). These laws are ‘applied ACT road transport laws’.
The applied ACT road transport laws apply to National Land as laws of the Commonwealth (see subsection 10(1) of the Ordinance). However, they are to be interpreted in the same way as the laws of the ACT (see section 6 of the Ordinance).
The applied ACT road transport laws were applied to National Land as at the commencement of the Rules (1 April 2025 - see subsection 6(2) of the Rules). The versions of the applied ACT road transport laws corresponding to that date are available on the ACT Legislation Register (www.legislation.act.gov.au).
Summary of the Amendment Determination
Section 4 amends the fees payable for the use of a ticket or permit, as the case may be, in a ticket parking area or open area, referred to in sections 6, 7 or 8 of the No. 2 Determination. It also amends the title of the No. 2 Determination to the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Determination 2026.
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (LA Act) (see section 17 of the Rules). The Amendment Determination is subject to disallowance and automatic repeal (see section 48A of the LA Act). The Amendment Determination does not incorporate any document by reference.
The Amendment Determination commences on 1 July 2026.
Details of the Amendment Determination are set out in Attachment A.
Consultation
Consultation was undertaken with the relevant ACT Government agencies as well as affected members of the community as part of the broader consultation process undertaken in respect of the Ordinance in 2025. Consultation also occurred with central agencies as part of the 2018-19 budget process. Because of this recent, broader consultation, it is considered that additional consultation in relation to the Amendment Determination is unnecessary.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A statement of compatibility with human rights for the purposes of Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is set out at Attachment B.
Attachment A
Details of the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Amendment Determination 2026
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Amendment Determination 2026.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Amendment Determination commences on 1 July 2026.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Amendment Determination is made under subsection 96(1) of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT)(Cth), as applied by the Ordinance and the Rules. Subsection 96(1) of that Act provides that the Minister may determine fees, charges and other amounts payable under the applied ACT road transport laws.
Section 4 – Schedules
This section provides that the title and sections 6, 7 and 8 of the No. 2 Determination are amended as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule, and any other items in the Schedule have effect according to its terms.
Attachment B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Amendment Determination 2026
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Determination
The Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees)
Amendment Determination 2026 (Amendment Determination) is made under subsection 96(1) of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT)(Cth), as that provision is applied to National Land by the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Ordinance 2025 (Ordinance) and the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) Rules 2025 (Rules).
In summary, subsection 8(1) of the Ordinance provides that the Rules may apply, to all or part of the National Land, specified ACT road transport laws, with or without
modification, including any offences created by those laws. The ACT road transport laws apply as laws of the Commonwealth (see subsection 10(1) of the Ordinance). However, they are to be interpreted in the same way as the laws of the ACT (see section 6 of the Ordinance).
The Amendment Determination amends, from 1 July 2026, the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Determination (No. 2) 2025 (No. 2 Determination) by:
- increasing the hourly, daily and weekly parking fee rates by $0.20, $0.50 and $2.50, respectively, and
- amending the title of the No. 2 Determination to the Australian Capital Territory National Land (Road Transport) (Parking Fees) Determination 2026.
Human rights implications
The Determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The Determination is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.