While parking in the CBD can be stressful and expensive for some drivers in Australia, have you thought about how much you're paying compared to motorists in other cities?
According to new data gathered by real estate company Ray White, Brisbane retained the unenviable title of Australia’s most expensive city to park in 2025, with daily CBD casual parking rates costing drivers $80.84 on average.
According to Ray White, Brisbane’s parking rates “stem from limited parking supply coupled with stronger office attendance”, which means more people battling for available parking spots close to their work in the city.
To help ease congestion, in 2024, the Queensland government announced a 50c cap on public transport costs, regardless of where commuters travel.
Six months after the change came into effect, a February 2025 report by national news outlet the ABC, which referenced data from the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), found that public transport use surged by 18 per cent in comparison to 2023.
Matthew Burke, an urban planning and transport professor from Griffith University, told the publication that the 50c fares have made it easier for commuters to travel to different places they might not have otherwise thought about.
“We’re getting a lot more leisure trips, we’re getting a lot more weekend trips,” Professor Burke told the ABC.
“On weekends, we are seeing a lot more discretionary travel, ferries, intercity trips, people who are doing a trip that they otherwise might not have done, and a lot of that seems to be for the tourism,” he added.
Sydney wasn’t too far behind, recording a daily CBD parking rate of $77, representing a 9 per cent decrease from the $85 rate recorded in 2023.
Interestingly, Drive previously did a deep dive into the most expensive private car parks that were sold in Australia and found that the top five were located close to Sydney’s CBD.
When asked why some parking spaces in Sydney fetch the highest value, Alice Stolz, the property editor of real estate giant Domain, said, “Parking in Sydney can add hundreds of thousands, particularly in inner-city or highly affluent areas like Bondi and Balmain.”
Additionally, Stolz said undercover parking in inner-city Sydney typically commands a higher premium due to crime and a growing population.
“[People] that don’t have undercover parking will always pay a premium. I do think more secure undercover parking will become more desirable, because crime continues to increase and we know our [capital] cities will become denser [as the] population grows,” she told Drive.
In the case of Melbourne, Victoria’s CBD ranked third, with drivers paying an average daily parking fee of $64.43 in 2025.
Ray White said the data revealed Melbourne “has the most concerning trajectory among major markets” as its office space vacancy rate sits at 18 per cent – the highest percentage recorded among all capital cities.
But it's not looking to get better anytime soon, with the Victorian government set to increase the congestion levy to 79 per cent over the next two years.
According to The Age, the tax is set to affect private and public car park operators from 2026, with the increased costs expected to be passed down to consumers.
The congestion levy is nothing new, with other capital cities like Sydney utilising the tax to deter motorists in an attempt to ease congestion in its centre.
However, Cath Evans, the Victorian executive director of the Property Council of Australia, told The Age that these changes “will exacerbate the already challenging economic conditions in Victoria and impose significant financial strain on businesses and property owners.”
Conversely, Darwin recorded the lowest daily parking fee, with Northern Territory motorists paying a daily average of $11.10 when parking in the CBD.
Drivers residing in Tasmania also have the benefit of relatively low parking fees in Hobart, with motorists paying an average of $18.83 to park their vehicles in the capital city.
Additionally, Canberra ranked as the third-cheapest city to park your car in, with locals paying a daily fee of $21.64 in 2025.
Which Australian city offers the best car park discounts?
When you factor in the early bird discount rates offered by some CBD car parks, the results show a slight change.
According to Ray White's data, despite ranking among the most expensive cities, Melbourne offers the largest car park discount, with the city's 62.9 per cent early bird rates leading $23.90 daily rate once you factor in the discount.
Brisbane's daily CBD parking fee goes down by close to $50 to $34 once you add in its discounted early bird rate of 57.94 per cent, while Sydney tops the list of the most expensive daily park at $34.75 despite a 54 per cent reduction courtesy of early morning rates.
We'd like to hear from you. How much do you normally pay for parking in your CBD? Let us know in the comments below.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
