By Urja Parhi.
ANU Parking has been a hot topic for students for a long time. Parking fines and limited permit numbers are something that everyone has either heard complaints of or faced first hand. Adding to that list is the updated parking fees for 2025, which include an increase in every type of permit, specifically residential and off campus student parking.
The change is just one of several financial shake-ups that ANU has announced as it looks to find new ways of paying off the mounting debt it has accrued over the last four years.
The non-resident student permit comes to a total of $1,416.20 per year which is a 176 per cent increase from last year’s $512.69 permit price.
Students have expressed disbelief across various online forums. This comes amidst existing complaints about the difficulty of finding a parking spot in the designated areas for the permit. Many students who live off campus rely on cars as their primary form of transportation to campus, especially if public transport is not a viable option.
One student planning to move off campus next year stated that she “probably won’t even bother getting a permit purely due to the cost increases” and that she was “better off walking or busing it.”
Similarly, residential (station) parking has also faced a major price increase with the 2025 total being $2,624.35 per year. This is approximately a 5-fold increase from the 2024 price of $512.69. Students that live on campus have already faced the struggles of limited permits available, as well as the ANU Parking website crashing during the permit purchase period.
Low SES students as well as disability permit holders will remain entitled to free of charge permits.
Observer spoke to the ANU Regional, Rural and Remote (RRR) Society Communications officer about how the changes could affect students next year. Isabella stated that “the parking price increase benefits nobody except the university’s bottom line. The 5-fold increase on resident permits is insane – I’m glad to be moving out of res next year as there is no way I could afford a permit on top of rent increases.”
“I can’t just catch a Murray’s bus – there is no feasible way to travel between home and uni other than by car. This decision hurts RRR students, working students, and residents disproportionately.”
Isabella is not the only student in a position where owning a car is essentially the only efficient way to travel back and forth from hometowns. Many students have also highlighted how owning a car is essential for their employment.
“It would take me over an hour to get to work by public transportation, but by car it is about a twenty minute drive.”
ANU’s reasoning for these increases have been outlined on the parking information page. Residential fees are also increased annually, resulting in on campus living becoming much less affordable for current and future students.
The website also mentions potential improvements for public transport users, such as the implementation of an electrical bus solely used to commute from the ANU Campus to the city main bus interchange. The website notes that there is no confirmed date, but an aim to have this initiative running in 2025.
A University spokesperson has stated that, “the new rates have been determined based on a benchmark of the cost of parking in the City, parliamentary triangle, and in other relevant locations. The rates were then set for the Surface Permit 10 per cent below the benchmark.”
It was also stated that, “ANU has been running operational deficits since the pandemic” and that the parking permit increases were made to “get back to financial sustainability.”
These changes will be implemented from January 2025, and the university has stated that they “recognise that it is a significant increase” and that “this is why [they’re] telling the community now, three months before the new rates come into effect.”
A full outline of the new parking fees can be found on the ANU website, as well as more information regarding system changes and FAQs.
Written by: Urja Parhi
Graphics by: Annisa Zatalini
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