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