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Abandoned Vehicles

An abandoned vehicle is any unregistered (or without valid licence plates) motorised vehicle, car, truck, trailer, caravan, horse float or similar, which is found on any road or in any park or on other land under the control of Townsville City Council, and which appears to be abandoned or discarded.

Before Reporting a Vehicle

Check Registration of Vehicle

Council is only able to respond to vehicle requests when the vehicle is unregistered.

Check Registration Status on the Queensland Government Transport and Main Roads website.

Check Ownership of Area

Use the Road Lookup map (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads) to find the ownership of the road or land the vehicle is located on.

Reporting an Abandoned Vehicle

A vehicle may be abandoned if it is unregistered and:

has been in the same location for an unusual length of time
has a derelict appearance and appears inoperable (for example, if it has no tires)
the owner cannot be located.

You can report an abandoned vehicle using Snap Send Solve, under the Abandoned Vehicle category.

You will be asked for details of the vehicle’s location, along with a description of the vehicle such as the colour, registration number, make/model, condition, and how long the vehicle has been at its current location.

To report an abandoned vehicle:

Report Abandoned Vehicle

Retrieving Your Vehicle

Any unregistered vehicle parked in a public place can be towed.

If your vehicle has been removed under the Transport Operations (Road Use and Management) Act 1995 and relevant Local Law, it can be reclaimed if proof of ownership or authority to act on the owner’s behalf is provided, and any outstanding fees are paid.

To find out if we have removed your vehicle:

Contact Council

Actions After a Report

If the vehicle has a current registration, we cannot act unless the vehicle is parked in a position that is a hazard or danger to motorists. If we can act, the following will occur:

Should the vehicle hold some form of identification such as number plates, we will conduct a registration search to determine the last known owner of the vehicle.
We will locate the vehicle and try to find out if the owner of the vehicle lives nearby. If we can talk to the owner, we will ask them to move the vehicle to within their property boundary.
Should the vehicle hold some form of identification such as number plates, we will conduct a registration search to determine the last known owner of the vehicle.
If the owner of the vehicle is not located, the we will affix to the vehicle a notice under the Transport Operations (Road Use and Management) Act 1995 and the relevant local law. This notice states that unless the owner removes the vehicle within the period stated on the “abandoned vehicles sticker” (usually seven days), Council will remove it to their approved holding yard.
After the expiry date on the notice, we will conduct another inspection to determine if the vehicle has been removed. If the vehicle remains on public property, we will arrange to have the vehicle removed.
Owners will be required to pay any expenses incurred by Council during the removal and storage of the vehicle. Costs will be assessed on application. In addition to towing costs, storage and administration charges will apply.

All apparently abandoned vehicles that we have removed are stored at a facility to await auction. The proceeds of the auction of unclaimed vehicles are used to cover costs incurred by the vehicle’s removal and storage.

Reporting a Stolen Vehicle

If your vehicle is otherwise missing and may have been stolen, immediately contact Queensland Police Service (QPS) to report the vehicle as stolen and to find out if your vehicle has been found. We liaise with QPS to determine whether an abandoned vehicle has been reported as stolen. If the vehicle has been reported as stolen, QPS will notify the owner. If your car was stolen and we have moved it, provided you notified the QPS and your insurance company, our enquiries will reveal this.

To report a stolen vehicle:

Report Stolen Vehicle