Sydney’s City Council has been forced to re-run a road safety campaign to educate residents who don’t know what the yellow lines on the road mean.
Drivers who are used to seeing ‘No Stopping’ signs and keeping going are finding themselves in a quandary because of road rules that are becoming increasingly common on Australian streets.
A solid yellow line painted on the curb serves the same function as no parking signs and is increasingly replacing them to reduce visual clutter on busy streets.
In April 2024, Bayside City Council in South Sydney noticed that lines were appearing in the council area causing confusion among residents and was forced to issue a traffic alert.
A statement from Bayside Borough Council said: “The council will use solid yellow lines at junctions and kerbs to indicate no parking zones. Painted yellow lines are more durable, easier to maintain and have less of an impact on the appearance of areas than road markings.”
”These continuous yellow lines are subject to the same rules as the No Parking signs and can be used with or without the No Parking sign.”
All states and territories in Australia, regardless of region, use yellow lines to indicate no-parking zones, with the exception of Western Australia. In Western Australia, yellow lines are only used on bus embankments to indicate no-stopping zones (parking is still prohibited). This is covered by Rule 169 of the Australian Road Rules.
Parking on yellow lines carries the same fines as parking in a no parking zone, and the fine amount will vary depending on where you are.
Some Bayside councillors have taken to Facebook to point out the downsides of using yellow lines instead of no parking signs, with some even claiming they have never heard of the rule.
”It’s okay if you see a queue. I got booked into Sutherland near the cemetery a few years ago because the queue was completely covered in leaves. I didn’t see it at all,” one user wrote.
Another wrote: “I had no idea what yellow lines meant until I got a ticket. I’ve been driving for over 50 years and have never heard of ‘yellow lines’.”
However, yellow markings have been used to inform users of no parking zones since 1999 and were incorporated into New South Wales legislation in 2009.
In Australia, yellow lines mean more than just “no parking”. In Victoria, there is a solid yellow line down the middle of the road to indicate sections of the road where trams run. According to Road Rule 155, crossing this line is prohibited.
Across the country, some intersections have yellow warning flags with crossed-out lines, reminding drivers not to stop even if there is a traffic jam. However, even if a yellow warning flag is displayed, you will not necessarily get a ticket. It is just a reminder.
This is established in traffic rule No. 128: “A driver must not enter an intersection if it is impossible to pass through it because the intersection or the road beyond it is blocked.”
In addition, throughout the country, at certain times, a solid yellow line is painted next to the curb to indicate a “free parking lane”. However, clear parking lane signs will indicate when parking is prohibited.
Regardless of the signs, if you see yellow lines on Australian roads, there’s a good chance you’ll get a fine.
Post time: May-20-2025