Newcastle council rangers have started issuing fines at the city's first electric vehicle charging car parks that allow public parking during business hours.
Electric vehicle (EV) chargers have been installed on Perkins Street outside the Victoria Theatre in the city's CBD.
The corresponding car spaces are the only ones in the city that are available to all cars during the day, but EV charging only between 5pm and 9am.
The standard two hour parking signs are in place, with 'no parking except while charging' from 5pm-9am attached to the top.
Rangers applied a two-month grace period and gave warnings after the signposts were updated in March, but have issued standard fines since May.
Rangers were spotted patrolling the location and issuing fines on June 11.
The fine is $129, however infringements of up to $2,200 can apply if the matter is determined by court action.
It comes as rangers have issued 19 fines across the city this year for vehicles breaching signposted restrictions at EV charging points.
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said the council recently reviewed parking restrictions for all public EV charging points "to better manage these spaces by promoting turnover and increased use by the community".
"This includes time-based parking restrictions so more people can utilise the charging infrastructure," the spokesperson said.
"Parking officers monitor these locations on their regular patrols and have responded to requests from the community to investigate parking behaviour at specific locations."
The Perkins Street chargers are low-voltage, meaning they are best suited to longer term parking and provide a charging option for guests at the nearby QT Hotel.
The night-time charging restrictions are also aimed at maintaining parking turnover in the busy area during business hours, however electric vehicles can still use the charging points at any time if the parking spaces are available.
The council owns 16 EV chargers across the city, which have recorded about 7,200 individual uses so far in 2024.
This has provided more than 150 megawatts of renewable energy to electric vehicles, which is equivalent to 1 million kilometres of travel.
