New parking system for staff – coming soon

UPDATE: Due to a large number responses and queries arising from this notice, a FAQ with answers will be published in the next edition of This Week on 26 March.

Specific details around pricing and zones will be published in This Week and on the parking webpage as soon as available (anticipated end of March / early April). At this time staff will be able to review the parking options that are relevant to their specific situation. The property team is unable to answer specific questions regarding individual cases until this information is available and thanks staff for their patience.


In October last year, the University introduced a new way of paying for and managing parking via an online platform that was rolled out for the student, visitor and gym user communities. Supported by new, dynamic carpark signage and live-feed car bay availability (www.mq.edu.au/parking), the digital platform is working well and will be introduced to staff in April ready for a 1 May start date.

What will be different?

  • Parking payment and infringement management will be virtual, using licence plate recognition technology.
  • There will be no tickets or display permits and the Cashier’s office will not handle parking permits.
  • Staff can choose between PAYG and vPermit (no need to use both):

PAYG. Casual, pay-as-you-go parking is self-managed by app/online; only available in General carparks – see Campus Parking Map. PAYG is operated by our partner, CellOpark.

vPermit. Virtual permits will be available for purchase online via our secure web portal. Salary sacrifice will be available for several vPermit types. Staff can purchase in April – date to be advised.

Pricing and zones

  • New rates for staff and students will be released during April.
  • Carparks will be separated by zones with varying parking rates.
  • Waterloo Road parking will be catered for.
  • PAYG will not be available in staff-only carparks.
  • Salary sacrifice will not be available for PAYG.

What stays the same?

  • Salary sacrifice will be available to permanent employees who purchase a vPermit that is for six months or longer.
  • Macquarie University still owns and operates all campus carparks.
  • If you haven’t paid for parking on campus, you may receive a parking fine.
  • Disabled/mobility parking spaces are still free for authorised drivers.
  • Motorcycle and motor scooter parking is still free in designated bays.

What help will be available to explain the new parking system?

Macquarie University Property staff and CellOpark will be on campus in April and May to answer queries and help staff to register for either PAYG or a vPermit. Dates and location to be advised.

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  1. Hi,
    Trains will be starting running in the month of May. What about some of us who will purchase the staff Vpermit but would like to try the trains. If we think trains are the best option for us can we return our Vpermit.

  2. Many of your posts mention that vPermits will be available to permanent staff. What about casuals? I have been using annual permit for the past 10+ years as a casual staff and don’t want to pay casual rates as some parts of the year I work full time (5 days a week), some part time (2, 3 or 4 days a week). Paying casual rates would be very expensive for continuing casuals.

  3. I was told that we do not have visitor parking permits any more as we used to. What is the alternative? If it is the PAYG system, then who should pay for that? It is not quite sensible to ask visitors paying for their parking when they come for a research visit for a day.

    1. Hi Shuping, if you currently do not pay for parking as a research participant/visitor then that will not change.

  4. Could you please inform when the Research Park Drive will be reopened? Reopening this road will make it easier for us to access the East 2 car park after entering the University from Epping Road.

    1. Hi Staff Member, Research Park Drive is open already – accessible from Herring Road in the East and Talavera Road to the North West. There are no current plans to reactivate the access from University Avenue.

  5. Where can the staff get the parking permit if the were unable to go on campus for this (which is usually the case for nurses who work in the hospital)?

    1. Hi Jennifer, the new system will be an online service to purchase vPermits – perfect for your situation.

  6. In fairness to staff members I think it is necessary to release the pricing of these permits. Surely it has been decided already? Without pricing we cannot plan ahead.

    1. Dear Frustrated Driver, pricing of vPermits and PAYG will be released in April as advised. Also in April, there will be on-campus help desks for staff and students to pop in, discuss their options or get help with the online registration process. Dates for these kiosks will be announced in THIS WEEK.

  7. Can you tell me if part time staff have been catered for in the new system? At the moment I pay for a yearly parking sticker as there has been no other option even though I’m only at work 2 & a half days a week. I’m interested in the PAYG discounted rate for staff but noticed that salary sacrifice is not offered when using that. Is there a vPermit category to cater for staff who don’t work full time and are not on a full time salary?

    1. Hi Caroline, yes PAYG will suit staff who drive to work in the way you describe. There will also be vPermits that offer you a salary sacrifice option. You will be able to fully evaluate your options when the information is published in April.

    1. Hi Keith, you can have multiple vehicle registrations listed on your vPermit or PAYG account – just remember to select the correct vehicle rego online when you arrive or prior to leaving home.

  8. So for casual tutors who may only teach when the semesters are on, can you advise what purchase would be best? We cannot salary sacrifice but need to get to our classes on time and need a selection of where the car park location is that is closest to the classroom. Will we still have that as I cannot afford to be restricted to any one or two car parks. I am not restricted now and have a choice. What will it cost and what is the best option. Assume a casual may only teach a few days a week when semester is running. Thank you.

    1. Hi Alanna, when published online in coming weeks, there will be loads of information to help staff compare which system (vPermit or PAYG) and which carpark will work best. As the system goes live in six weeks’ time, we’ve allowed plenty of time for staff to receive and absorb the new information and plan what to do post 1 May.

  9. I am very interested in sharing an answer to the query: “And what about people such as Emeritus Professors and retired staff who still remain attached to a department assisting with teaching and adding to research and student support etc but are not paid by the University. Why should they be expected to pay the same parking rate as paid staff who have the option of salary sacrifice.”
    I am an honorary staff member, but rarely come to the university because of parking. When I do, I sometimes park kilometres away. Casual rates are prohibitive. Any advice?

    1. Hi Dorothy, thanks for your question and we’re so glad you asked! If you have a staff MQID then you can receive the discounted pay-as-you-go rate that will be available to staff when it comes in on 1 May. The rates are very reasonable (lowest is $1.25/hr to highest $2.20/hr) and will suit carpark users just like you -occasional drivers who shouldn’t have to pay the casual visitor rates. Stay tuned for when we release all the information, choices and infrastructure.

  10. When are we required to purchase 2019 parking permits? I am using my 2018 permit still (staff full year). Do we wait until April and the new vPermit?

    1. Hi Jane, that’s correct. Full year staff permits expire at the end of April. There will be an opportunity prior to this to purchase a vPermit. It takes minutes online and you do this yourself. However if you’d like some help or to ask questions, keep an eye out for the pop-up kiosks we’ll be hosting on campus. THIS WEEK will have the notices and details in coming editions.

  11. So when exactly does the 2018 permit expire, as it keeps changing? After returning from an extended leave I was told a monthly permit would be my best option as we will find out more in April. My monthly permit has now expired. Is my best option now to buy another monthly permit until May? Just very confused with all the dates & changes!

    1. Hi Staff Member, the dates have not changed – 31 April remains the expiry date for all full year and half year permits. It looks like a monthly permit would be the best option for you and the team can sort out a solution to cover until 31 April. Please email parking@mq.edu.au to arrange your next permit.

  12. And what about people such as Emeritus Professors and retired staff who still remain attached to a department assisting with teaching and adding to research and student support etc but are not paid by the University. Why should they be expected to pay the same parking rate as paid staff who have the option of salary sacrifice.

    1. Hi Peter, thanks for your question. Without knowing your current permit arrangement, we can’t accurately answer on this forum. Can you get in touch via parking@mq.edu.au and we can advise according to your situation?

    1. Hi Staff Member, yes you can salary sacrifice any vPermit for any carpark zone with a duration of six months or more. You’ll need a valid MQID and staff email address to register and purchase.

  13. Just wondering how long is the turnaround time for updating the plate number online under the vpermit system. Just concern that I would not know the plate number of a loan car, e.g. for servicing or repairs etc, until may be just before coming to campus. Thank you.

    1. Hi Claudia, good question. You can update your details online, effective immediately on our cloud-based system.

  14. I note that there is staff allocated parking on the east and far north side of campus. Is there is be some staff allocated parking in the western parking areas for those who work on the central and western side of campus?
    This would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you

    1. Hi Margaret, staff can purchase a vPermit for any general carpark on campus as well as staff-only carparks so you should be able to find one that suits. There is no plan to increase the number of staff-only carparks other than the North 3 which will become staff-only in May.

  15. Am I reading the above correctly that salary sacrifice will NOT be available anywhere other than for designated staff only car parks? If this is so, and the only staff designated car-parks are in the east part of the campus, this seems problematic. Many of us work far from the east domain and prefer to use car parks closer to where we are located. If we can’t salary sacrifice our parking in those areas in the west or central, I feel like that will be disadvantageous to those staff. Also, will all staff who want salary sacrifice even fit in staff-only facilities?

    1. Hi J-L, you are reading this incorrectly. Salary sacrifice will be available for vPermits six months and longer, to any permanent staff member in any carpark zone that the permit is purchased for allowing flexibility to pay to park in your most convenient carpark. Hope this helps.

  16. What are the options for staff who only want to use CarPark until Train Line opens? I would like to purchase VPermit but only for 2-3 months until Train Line opens (Currently I use CarPark on daily basis, full time). Is that possible?

    1. Hi Yvonne, there will be a monthly vPermit option available from 1 May 2019. The train is likely to open in early May (we don’t have confirmation on this yet) but you would probably benefit from purchasing a one-month permit.

  17. Just a heads up – the live bay availability is pretty unreliable and I definitely wouldn’t recommend trusting it unless you have time to waste looking for imaginary free spots.

    1. Am wondering whether the live bay availability function can be assessed, especially for South 2 carpark. On many occasions, including this morning, it shows enough available bays to determine it is worth attempting the labrynthine search (e.g. 22 available on entry this morning). I then waste 10-15 mins crawling through each layer of the car park to find there are no spaces (with about 50 other cars finding out the same thing).

      It seems that bay sensors in shopping centre car parks give much more accurate readings for different zones. How does the CellOpark system currently calculate vacancies?

      It may not be as much of an issue for other MQ carparks but my experience is that South 2 is more dysfunctional because of it’s design.

    2. Hi Della, thanks for explaining what happened today in South 2 carpark. The team is looking into re-calibrating the signage technology feed to make it more accurate. We don’t have the same type of parking system as shopping centres and ours is not operated by CellOpark. Once again, sorry for your experience today and hopefully it will be rectified.

    1. Hi Christopher, yes you are. See the reply to Marlo below. PS you can also have multiple vehicles registered using the PAYG system.

  18. I am full time staff. At present I use my annual permit with two different vehicles interchangeably. Will this still be possible?

    1. Hi Marlo, yes this will certainly be possible under the vPermit system. You’ll go online to select the car you’re driving on the day so the licence plate recognition technology (attached to the security vehicles that inspect the carparks) will acknowledge it as correct.

  19. “New rates for staff and students will be released during April.” — Why wait till April? Just tell us now. Surely, you already have that information.

    1. Hi Vasantha, thanks for your question. Over the next six weeks before a go-live date of 1 May, more details will be available for staff to make the choice between PAYG and vPermit. Pricing may be released prior to that – the updated web pages are in production.

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