Free one-hour parking in Warrnambool’s city centre
Free one-hour parking – the details
Where: 2P bays in Parkers Car Park, Ozone Car Park and the Coles-Younger Car Park.
When is it available: any time Monday to Friday. At the weekends all parking in Council-owned and managed off-street car parks is already free.
How to get the free hour: register your licence plate details either on the Cellopark app, the Cellopark website or at the parking meter.
Visitors to Warrnambool's city centre are encouraged to take advantage of free one-hour parking in selected parking bays.
Council introduced the free hour of parking as a business stimulus measure in its 2021-2022 Budget.
It will assist businesses as they recover from the impact of COVID-19 and for a large proportion of people coming to the city centre by car, the free hour will cover their needs.
The free hour is available in the 2P bays within Parkers Car Park, Ozone Car Park and in the privately owned Coles-Younger Car Park.
There is new signage and linemarking to help identify the free parking bays.
Council has a "pay-by-plate" parking system so motorists must enter their registration plate details into either the parking meters or via the Cellopark app.
Registering for a free hour of parking lets Council’s Local Laws team know that a motorist is entitled to be parking for free.
If people wish to stay for longer than one hour our smart meters and parking app will recognise the free hour and allow people to pay for additional time.
If you use the app it means you pay only for the time you are in the parking bay – down to the second.
The pay-by-plate system means you don’t have to print out a ticket and walk back to your car to display it.
Parking in and around the city centre has been designed to ensure people coming to the city centre have choices.
For commuters or people coming to enjoy a movie or a leisurely day browsing shops and dining at a café or restaurant, we have a number of all-day car parks.
For those doing tasks like a grocery shop or collecting an item at a pharmacy there are short-term options, including 15-minute bays along Liebig Street.
The app – pay only for the parking time you use
The move to pay-by-plate parking has been accompanied by a move to a new app called CellOPark.
Using the app is a convenient way to organise your parking payments and means that you only pay for the time you use. So if you park in a one-hour parking space, which costs $2 per hour, but you stay only 30 minutes, with the app you will pay only $1.
There are no charges for using the app although banks and other credit card providers may have charges relating to the use of the credit card.
The CellOPark app is available for download on Apple and Android phones.
CellOPark also offers a premium service called iMoved that sends you reminders when your parking credit is set to expire. This opt-in service costs $1.99 a month.
You do not need to download the premium service to use the basic app.
The following table explains the differences between the free app and the premium service.
| Feature | CellOPark basic | CellOPark |
|---|---|---|
| Recognises where you are | Yes | Yes |
| Activates a parking session | Yes | Yes |
| Terminates a parking session | Yes | Yes |
| Sends parking expiry reminders | No | Yes |
| Sends a reminder to stop a parking session | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free | $1.99 a month |
Note: if you inadvertently download the premium service you will need to unsubscribe by logging into your account via CellOPark’s desktop website.
Frequently asked questions
If I’m using the app, what happens if I forget to press stop?
When activating a parking session the system will inform you of the time at which it will automatically end that session if you do not end it sooner. This will either be once the maximum time limit for that car park has been reached (for example, you will be charged a maximum of two hours parking in a two hour zone) or when the paid parking hours are over, which is 5 or 5.30pm depending on the car park.
What is the CellOPark premium service?
If you opt-in to the CellOPark premium service, you will be sent an SMS reminder approximately 15 minutes before you are due to overstay the allowed time in a specific carpark. It will also send you a reminder if it detects that you have moved your car but haven’t stopped your session. This service costs $1.99 per registered vehicle per month. If you don’t use the app during the month, you will not be charged. If you have signed up for this service, but would like to cancel it, you can do so on the profile page of your online account (currently via CellOPark’s the desktop site only).
Why has CellOPark charged me $1 when I haven’t started a session yet?
When you register your credit card in the app, CellOPark charges $1 to the card to ensure that the payment method is authentic, but note that this is always refunded by CellOPark.
Is the time purchased on parking meters transferable between carparks?
Yes it is, as long as both carparks have the same time limit. So if you paid for two hours of parking in a two hour zone using either coin or card, then you finished in that area after one hour, you could then drive to and park in another two hour zone and use your remaining time. You don’t pause and then re-start your session for this to occur, it will work automatically. So if you buy two hours of parking in a two hour zone, you can park in any two hour carpark during that time.
Do the parking meters accept all coins?
Yes, all Australian coins are accepted.
Why is there a surcharge when paying for parking using a credit card on the parking meters?
This surcharge represents a credit card merchant and a payment gateway processing fee. These are not Council fees.
Why does Council charge for some parking?
Income from car parks is used to maintain the car park (sealing, lighting, line-marking) and for enforcement of time limits by Local Laws officers.
We have time limits to encourage a regular turnover of vehicles so that people needing to shop in the city centre can expect to find a park.
Free parking
For motorists who prefer not to pay for parking there are still plenty of options. The city centre and hospital precinct contain more than 4000 car parking spaces, more than 1000 of which are free.
For instance parking along Banyan Street, parallel to Liebig Street, is free – just make sure you stick to the time limit.
The railway precinct also has large car park, just south of South West TAFE, which has more than 100 free parking spaces.
Parents with pram parking
Accessible parking for parents with prams has been introduced in the Target, Coles Centro, and Ozone Square car parks.
Free parking for Returned Service Personnel
A permit system has been introduced which enables free parking for people involved in a theatre of war or peace-keeping force. Permit holders must be residents of the municipality and have represented Australia in war service.
Click here to download the Application form
* This permit is only valid within the Warrnambool municipality.
Residential Parking Permit
Council operates a resident parking scheme to help alleviate parking congestion in busy areas and to give residents, who have little or no off-street parking, preferential access to the on-street parking resource.
Residential parking application form
Loading zones
Loading zones are to assist with moving of goods from vehicles in the City Centre. They must not be used for parking or stopping by anyone other than people in a commercially registered delivery vehicle or a vehicle with the approved signage displayed. Motorists who are not eligible to park in loading zones will incur fines. Click Here to find out more