Northern Beaches Council introduces digital Beach Parking Permits: Residents Report Problems with using the new online register system
On Wednesday, 01 July 2026 the Northern Beaches Council announced it is moving all Beach Parking Permits to a digital system from 1 July, ‘’eliminating the need for physical stickers, streamlining processes and reducing administrative overheads’’.
Under the new system, residents will apply for, manage, and renew their Beach Parking Permits through a secure online portal called vPermit. Permits will be linked to registration details, allowing verification electronically.
Ratepayers accessing their two free permits will apply once and not again for 3 years, unless their circumstances change. Vehicle details can be updated easily online if permit holders change vehicles or they are stolen or written off.
However, to a query to ‘so if you have two vehicles for your two (previously) stickers - you have to do it twice????, which another resident, not the council, kindly answered: ''yes, if you have 2 vehicles'', as that answer appears nowhere among the council’s FAQ’s on the new system.
Others are wary of allowing their private information to be uploaded into a system, wondering why they must provide an image of their drivers licence if the council already has their details on their rates notice.
The council has already had 14 thousand of the over 208 thousand residents eligible under this scheme successfully complete registering themselves into this new system.
We could neither log in and create an account, nor finish the process as the system did not accept the photograph of the drivers licence with the same address. We now, apparently, have to try a manual method or visit the council itself to process – which seems likely since the second attempt at the manual method process failed, from the outset, too.
The council state the existing physical Beach Parking Permit stickers are valid until 31 August.
The new system opened from 1 July to allow the more than 208,000 permits to transition to the digital system.
Failing that, council staff will have to process the other 194 thousand applications themselves.
It should also be noted that the Digital ID Act 2024 makes creating and using a Digital ID completely voluntary for individuals. It legally stops the government and government agencies and participating businesses from forcing you to use a Digital ID to access services.
Under Section 74 of the Digital ID Act 2024, businesses and government agencies cannot demand you use a Digital ID to get service. The Alternative: If a service uses a Digital ID, they must also give you a standard way to verify your identity. There is also a requirement of 'No Profiling': Accredited providers cannot sell your data or use it to market things to you, so if you find the council or its contractors are then sending you anything you didn’t sign up for, they can be reported to ACMA.
Mayor Sue Heins said the introduction of digital permits ‘reflects the Council’s commitment to modern, user-friendly services that keep pace with community expectations’.
“Our community loves our beaches which makes the Beach Parking Permits one of the most valued benefits we offer ratepayers and residents,” Mayor Heins said.
“Moving the system online will improve efficiency, save ratepayers money, minimise misuse and reduce plastic waste.
“The upgrade ensures locals can continue to enjoy convenient access to the beach, with a system that’s built for the future.
“I encourage all eligible residents to jump online from 1 July to ensure they have their new permits in place before their current permits expire.”
However, we’re not the only residents finding the system does not work as it should and who grew tired of having to get these from a council office after they had been stolen with the first rates notice for the year out of our letterbox.
Reading the comments on the Northern Beaches Council post announcing this, residents stated; –
‘’I hear it cost some $500k plus!! Just to save $75k/year = $0.50 per ratepayer !!!’’’
‘’What a bad IT system ! Who decided to get their user to Delete the “prepopulated” car rego details?!’’
‘’Why isn’t there 2 car rego fields so it’s easy for the user !!!???’’
‘’The fact you have to tell people how to do this here says this system’s interface was poorly designed !!’’
‘’I used to work in IT … Big FAIL Northern Beaches Council IT !! And you said this was piloted with Church Point & Manly parking. Obviously not User tested enough !!’’
‘’What a very poor user interface !! Crap design. Not thought through. Not tested with real users !! Plus a tenant has to give their landlord their car rego details. The landlord has to register themselves in a system (provide their drivers licence details) & enter in the details for 2 vehicles !! Then communicate back & forth with the tenant via their real estate agent !!!’’
‘’Go back to giving out stickers.’’
And;
‘’You’ve created a complicated IT system. What a waste of ratepayers money !!!’’
Others have pointed out older residents already have trouble negotiating the council's website and are likely to also have problems using this new system.
The council's webpage of 'how to' does provide our next steps though, after 5 x attempts and photo of licence rejected and manual attempt a complete non-starter; we now need to make a visit to the Avalon Council Office - except, that's been closed by the NBC - so it means a visit to the Mona Vale service centre for the council. So, just an hour or two out of our lives negotiating the traffic problem being imposed on Mona Vale to ensure developers make millions more through an 'affordable housing scheme'.
That council webpage states:
''If you have unusual circumstances or have had more than 5 attempts to upload your documents, you will need to have your address manually verified by Council staff. This can be done online through the vPermit system. Manual verification can take up to 3 days and you will be notified of the review via email. Alternatively, attend a Customer Service Centre and have it sighted by a Customer Service officer.''
The council states the ‘policy framework that governs the Beach Parking Permit system remains unchanged’:
- 'each rateable property is eligible for 2 Beach Parking Permits free of charge each year. Ratepayers who live at their property are also eligible to purchase an additional 2 permits
- residents (non-ratepayers) are eligible to purchase up to 2 Beach Parking Permits per property
- where a ratepayer is a landlord, it is expected that at least one of their permits will be provided to their tenant. Tenants are encouraged to request it in their rental agreement.'
The council further stated:
‘’The vPermit system is set up to automatically verify applicant details and approve eligible permits immediately. Depending on their circumstances, applicants will need to have a valid email address, rates notice, car registration details and a NSW Driver Licence or other proof of address document.
''How-to apply video, instructions and detailed FAQs are available on the Council website and additional face-to-face support will be provided at Dee Why’s Customer Service Centre, opening extra hours on Saturdays, 9am to 1pm, throughout the month of July.
‘’The digitisation of the Beach Parking Permit follows the implementation of online permits for sections of Manly, the Western Foreshores, Church Point and other permit schemes in the northern part of the LGA.’’
For more information or to apply for a digital Beach Parking Permit, the community can visit the Northern Beaches Council website or contact Customer Service on 1300 434 434.’’
The 'how to' webpage is at: www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/services/parking/parking-permits/how-to-apply-your-digital-permit
To commence trying to apply for your digital parking register of vehicles, visit: https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/services/parking/beach-parking-permits
The Mona Vale Council Service Office is at 1 Park Street, Mona Vale and open Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm. If you work Monday to Friday you can try the visit to the labyrinth that is Dee Why option for the remaining Saturday in July - July 26.
Good luck!
Background in March 2025 report: Digital Parking permits coming for across the Peninsula + CellOPark Dispute 2024-2025 + NSW Government's Ticketless Parking Reforms and Consultation on Equal Access to Beach Parking Permits (open until April 17 2025)
