Unattended Property including Motor Vehicles

Council officers can investigate and deal with unattended property (including personal items, animals and vehicles) in public spaces. Council does not deal with items located on private property. Vehicles and other items on private property are managed by the landowner and/or the occupier of the premises. Once Council has complied with the requirements of the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021 (the Act), Council may take possession of the item.

Meaning of ‘unattended’
Under the Act, unattended property means property not under the direct control or supervision of the responsible person. Authorised officers may only take possession of property if they reasonably believe it to be unattended. 

Determining what is ‘unattended’ property
Property left unattended in public is not always a problem needing regulatory action. When someone legally parks a registered vehicle on the road, the unattended vehicle does not create a hazard and would not trigger regulatory action to be taken.

When making a determination of whether property is unattended, some considerations may be to assess whether the property is under the direct control or supervision of the responsible person and the responsible person is in adequate physical proximity of the property to take active control of the property if required.
    
NOTE: Council generally will not take action to remove a registered vehicle that is legally parked on a road and is in reasonable proximity to its owner.

The situation is an emergency – what can be done?
An Authorised Officer may immediately take possession of a vehicle if it is in a public place and the authorised officer is satisfied on reasonable grounds that its immediate removal is justified because it is causing an obstruction to traffic (vehicular or pedestrian) or is likely to be a danger to the public. The owner of the vehicle is liable for any costs incurred in the removal and storage of the vehicle.

Unregistered vehicles
Having an unregistered vehicle does not mean it is unattended, however, it is illegal to use or stand an unregistered vehicle on a road or road related area. Authorised officers may issue fines to the owner of an unregistered vehicle that is parked on a road or road related area, and may take possession of an unregistered vehicle in accordance with the Act.

Legislation
The following Acts, Regulations and Policies are relevant to this procedure:
•    Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021
•    Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Regulation 2022 
•    Shellharbour City Council – Compliance and Enforcement Policy