Abandoned and Impounded Vehicles
If a vehicle has been parked in your street for a few days and you don't know who the owner is, council can investigate the matter.
Please note: if you know who owns the vehicle or it is registered to someone locally, the vehicle is not deemed to be abandoned.
To begin the investigation, council needs you to provide:
- Registration number (if available).
- Model, make and colour.
- Approximate length of time the vehicle has been parked.
Once council has received this information, a Community Safety Inspector will inspect the vehicle.
Vehicle inspection
The police will be contacted to ascertain the vehicle's status, and if the vehicle has been stolen, the police will organise its removal.
If the vehicle is not stolen, the inspector will attempt to find the owner by door knocking the adjacent residences, leaving a contact card if no-one is home.
First notice
If the vehicle has not been removed by the next day, a notice will be placed under the wiper advising that the vehicle needs to be removed within 24 hours.
Second notice
If the vehicle has not been removed within this period or alternative arrangements made with council, a second notice will be placed on the vehicle declaring it to be apparently abandoned and advising that if it is not moved within 24 hours it will be impounded.
An attempt is also made to contact the registered owner/s through the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure's vehicle registration records.
Impounded vehicles
If no contact is made or the owner/s can not be contacted and the vehicle removed within an agreed time period, the vehicle will be impounded and towed to council's pound.
This process can take up to a fortnight to ensure every effort is made to locate the vehicle's owner.
Return of impounded vehicles
The owners of impounded vehicles will need to provide proof of ownership to council.
All outstanding fees and expiations will need to be paid in full before the vehicle is released to them.
Sale of impounded vehicles
All unclaimed vehicles will be sold by tender, and a notice providing details of the vehicles to be sold will be placed in the Tenders' section of the Saturday edition of The Advertiser a fortnight before each sale.
Contact City of Marion
For more information, please contact:
Community Health and Safety
Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm
Phone: (08) 8375 6600
Fax: (08) 8375 6699
Email: council@marion.sa.gov.au
Post: PO Box 21, Oaklands Park SA 5046
In Person: 245 Sturt Road, Sturt SA 5047
