Home News Airport parking costs fall up to 22%

Airport parking costs fall up to 22%

A new report by the ACCC has found the cost of parking in some of Australia’s biggest airports has declined.

First published on 25 Feb 2019

Photo by journey man on Unsplash

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) annual airport performance report was released today, revealing parking prices in Australia’s four largest airports (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) mostly fell throughout the 2017-18 financial year.

Drive-up parking prices fell in some cities, including drops as high as 20% in Melbourne and Brisbane – Melbourne’s short-term parking fell by 21.5%, while Brisbane’s long-term parking fell by as much as 22% for five to six days of parking.

According to ACCC Chairman Rod Simms, these price decreases are due to competitive pressures from other transport options like ridesharing, off-airport parking and public transport.

“While some prices have fallen, parking costs remain a bugbear for passengers using Australia’s major airports,” Mr Sims said.

“Motorists should continue to look for savings by pre-booking online or parking with an independent operator.”

The following tables show a breakdown of the figures presented in the ACCC’s report.

Average airport parking prices

Short-term

Airport (30-60 minute parking)	Average drive-up ($)	Average Online ($)	Combined average ($)	Online discount ($)
Brisbane	15.87	14.54	15.87	– 8.4%
Melbourne	14.28	11.71	14.21	– 18.0%
Perth	11.91	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sydney	18.15	12.87	17.97	– 29.1%

Airport (2-3 hour parking)	Average drive-up ($)	Average Online ($)	Combined average ($)	Online discount (%)
Brisbane	25.28	18.03	24.96	-28.7
Melbourne	27.45	20.93	26.47	– 23.8%
Perth	21.37	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sydney	35.37	20.96	32.68	– 40.7%

Source: ACCC Airport monitoring report 2017–18

Long-term

Airport (2-3 day parking)	Average drive-up ($)	Average Online ($)	Combined average ($)	Online discount ($)
Brisbane	56.92	30.75	32.84	– 46.0%
Melbourne	66.74	54.14	60.53	– 18.9%
Perth	77.04	77.03	77.03	0.0%
Sydney	77.41	70.30	73.58	– 9.2%

Airport (6-7 day parking)	Average drive-up ($)	Average Online ($)	Combined average ($)	Online discount ($)
Brisbane	94.16	71.92	74.63	– 23.6%
Melbourne	92.09	78.70	78.70	– 14.5%
Perth	124.03	98.50	115.76	– 20.6%
Sydney	140.41	108.37	114.93	– 22.8%

Source: ACCC Airport monitoring report 2017–18

Changes to airport parking prices

Airport (short-term parking)	Change, first 30 mins (%)	Change, 30-60 mins (%)	Change, 1-2 hours (%)
Brisbane	–1.9	4.2	3.0
Melbourne	–21.5	–21.	–18.8
Perth	3.4	1.2	3.6
Sydney	4.6	1.1	0.1

Airport (long-term parking)	Change, 1-2 days (%)	Change, 2-3 days (%)	Change, 3-4 days (%)
Brisbane	–8.7	–8.1	–6.6
Melbourne	–1.9	–1.9	–1.9
Perth	2.0	3.5	3.9
Sydney	–0.4	–0.6%	–1.4%

Source: ACCC Airport monitoring report 2017–18

Discounts to be found by looking online

Airport parking can be unavoidable in some situations, but the new data suggests booking online ahead of time could be the key to getting a good deal.

Online discounts as high as 46% can be found for those who book their parking online – the longer the park the bigger the discount is the general rule.

Some exceptions apply – for example, Perth has no online booking discounts for parking less than six days.

This hasn’t swayed motorists from booking online; in fact, the share of total car parking revenue sourced from online car park bookings ranged from 24 per cent (Perth) to 47.3 per cent (Brisbane).

This is an increase in all four cities monitored in the report. There’s a heavier concentration of online bookings for longer stays, due to the heavier discounts on offer.

For those looking to book a short stay, Sydney offers the biggest discounts for short-term parking facilities.

Brisbane on the other hand offers the largest discounts for long parks.

For feedback or queries, email will.jolly@savings.com.au

William Jolly

William Jolly joined Savings.com.au as a Financial Journalist in 2018, after spending two years at financial research firm Canstar. In William's articles, you're likely to find complex financial topics and products broken down into everyday language. He is deeply passionate about improving the financial literacy of Australians and providing them with resources on how to save money in their everyday lives.

Email Twitter Articles

The entire market was not considered in selecting the above products. Rather, a cut-down portion of the market has been considered. Some providers' products may not be available in all states. To be considered, the product and rate must be clearly published on the product provider's web site. Savings.com.au, yourmortgage.com.au, yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au, and Performance Drive are part of the InfoChoice Group. In the interests of full disclosure, the InfoChoice Group are associated with the Firstmac Group. Read about how InfoChoice Group manages potential conflicts of interest, along how we get paid.

Savings.com.au Pty Ltd ACN 161 358 363 operates as an Australian Financial Services Licensee and an Australian Credit Licensee Number 515843. Savings.com.au is a general information provider and in giving you general product information, Savings.com.au is not making any suggestion or recommendation about any particular product and all market products may not be considered. If you decide to apply for a credit product listed on Savings.com.au, you will deal directly with a credit provider, and not with Savings.com.au. Rates and product information should be confirmed with the relevant credit provider. For more information, read Savings.com.au's Financial Services and Credit Guide (FSCG). The information provided constitutes information which is general in nature and has not taken into account any of your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Savings.com.au may receive a fee for products displayed.

Explore the InfoChoice Group network: InfoChoice · Your Mortgage · Your Investment Property · Performance Drive

Our company, Savings.com.au, has obtained accreditation as a data recipient for the Consumer Data Right (CDR). You can view our CDR policy by clicking on this link.

Important information

Savings.com.au provides general information and comparison services to help you make informed financial decisions. We do not cover every product or provider in the market. Our service is free to you because we receive compensation from product providers for sponsored placements, advertisements, and referrals. Importantly, these commercial relationships do not influence our editorial integrity.

For more detailed information, please refer to our How We Get Paid, Managing Conflicts of Interest, and Editorial Guidelines pages.

Editorial Integrity

At Savings.com.au, we are passionate about helping Australians make informed financial decisions. Our dedicated editorial team works tirelessly to provide you with accurate, relevant, and unbiased information. We pride ourselves on maintaining a strict separation between our editorial and commercial teams, ensuring that the content you read is based purely on merit and not influenced by commercial interests.

Learn more about our commitment to editorial integrity in our Editorial Guidelines.

Advertiser Disclosure

Our service is free for you, thanks to support from our partners through sponsored placements, ads, and referrals. We earn compensation by promoting products, referring you, or when you click on a product link. You might also see ads in emails, sponsored content, or directly on our site.

For more details, see How We Get Paid.

Product Coverage and Sort Order

We strive to cover a broad range of products, providers, and services; however, we do not cover the entire market. Products in our comparison tables are sorted based on various factors, including product features, interest rates, fees, popularity, and commercial arrangements.

Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes.

Additionally, certain products may present forms designed to refer you to associated companies (e.g. our mortgage broker partner) who may be able to assist you with products from the brand you selected. We may receive a fee for this referral.

You can customise your search using our sorting and filtering tools to prioritise what matters most to you, although we do not compare all features and some results associated with commercial arrangements may still appear.

For more details, visit How We Get Paid and Managing Conflicts of Interest.

Comparison Rate Warning and Base Criteria

For home loans, the base criteria include a $500,000 loan amount over 30 years. For car loans, the base criteria include a $30,000 loan over 5 years. For personal loans, the base criteria include a $20,000 loan over 5 years. These rates are only examples and may not include all fees and charges.

*The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

Monthly Repayment Figures

Monthly repayment figures are estimates that exclude fees. These estimates are based on the advertised rates for the specified term and loan amount. Actual repayments will depend on your circumstances and interest rate changes.

Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you.

Related Brands

Savings.com.au is proudly part of the InfoChoice Group, which includes InfoChoice.com.au, YourMortgage.com.au, YourInvestmentPropertyMag.com.au, and PerformanceDrive.com.au. The InfoChoice Group is associated with the Firstmac Group.

We may include products and services from loans.com.au, CarLoans.com.au, OnlineAuto.com.au, and YourMortgageBroker Pty Ltd, all associated with the Firstmac Group. Importantly, these brands are treated like any other commercial partner.

Learn more about how we manage conflicts of interest.

General Advice Disclosure

The information provided by Savings.com.au is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. We recommend seeking independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. Before acquiring any financial product, obtain and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Target Market Determination (TMD), and any other offer documents.

Rates and product information should be confirmed with the relevant credit provider. For more information, read Savings.com.au’s Financial Services and Credit Guide (FSCG).