A Sydney couple who received a parking ticket while in labour were initially told they needed to pay their fine by Revenue NSW.
Greg Earl received a $120 parking fine for overstaying his time by 12 minutes while his partner Carly was in the delivery room giving birth to their new baby girl Hazel.
“If I wasn’t still technically in labour, I may have just given birth (at the time of receiving the fine),” Carly told 9News.
“There were a few moments that were a bit scary, her heart rate dropped, there are certain elements of the labour that are unpredictable.”
With Hazel home safe and sound, the surprise ticket arrived in the mail a few weeks later.
“We just figured it was laughable, we thought there was absolutely no way that a contested fine around someone going through labour was ever going to be rejected,” Carly said.
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But Revenue NSW did initially reject the application for the fine to be waived.
”We acknowledge your comments that your wife had been in labour and you had been unable to leave to pay for additional parking, however we are unable to cancel the fine,” Revenue NSW told the Marrickville couple in a letter.
Carly said there was “no person on the face of the planet” who could go and move their car in that situation.
Revenue NSW has since tried to call Greg and Carly, leaving an apology on their voicemail.
It has now revoked the fine after 9News brought this story to their attention.
