The hike in parking fines is one of a cluster of parking fine changes made by the government.
Invercargill City Council environmental services manager Gillian Cavanagh said infringement fees were last set in 2004.
Other fines to change include: overstaying in a park for less than 30 minutes will increase from $12 to $20 while overstaying for more than six hours will increase from $57 to $97.
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston said the government had decided to "get tough on this selfish behaviour".
"Parking in an area reserved for disabled people is the epitome of arrogance.
"The penalty for abusing mobility parking in New Zealand is far too low compared to other countries, like Australia. Increasing this will send a very clear message that this behaviour is not OK, and our government is serious about addressing accessibility issues," Ms Upston said.
CCS Disability Action Access and Infrastructure national manager B.J. Clark said people exploiting mobility parking was "rife" and a nationwide issue.
Forty percent of mobility parks are misused. "That’s unacceptably high," he said.
"The ability to use that park just makes so much difference to their opportunity to access the community to get their business done for the day."
He cautioned people about "taking things into their own hands", as not all mobility issues were visible, such as heart or breathing issues.
"We call that hidden disability or hidden impairment.
"Unfortunately, we've had people abused verbally and physically, and we don't want to see that."
People should phone the council, if on council land, or phone the private landowner (retailers) if they saw people misusing disability parks.
The $750 fine could only be issued by council enforcement officers or the police, while private mobility park owners were able to set their own breach notice rates, he said.
Mr Clark recommended private park owners engaged professional parking contractors to prevent staff from being put at risk of abuse.
Age Concern Southland manager Janette Turner said she expected the hefty fine would be a deterrent for those tempted to use the spaces.
"Getting a decent fine should be enough to deter people."
But she cautioned people needed to be careful about judging other’s abilities.
"So people’s perception of people who park in these disability parks is probably ‘oh look at that, they can walk, what’s wrong with them?’.
"It’s not necessarily an older person that needs the parks."
She said there might be some seniors who might not be aware they would qualify for a permit. She urged them to discuss applying for a mobility parking permit with the Age Concern team who could help with the process.
Mr Clark said mobility parking permits were issued for three, six, nine or 12-month periods and were issued by CCS Disability Action with an accompanying medical certificate.
He also urged Invercargill’s 2347 permit holders to plan ahead if a permit was due to expire because it could take up to three weeks to process applications.
People who do not display or hold a current disability permit are not allowed to use the parks.
- By Toni McDonald
