By Violet Li
A Casey family has claimed Casey Council trespassed on their property and impounded their cars without notice, while the council said the family was storing unregistered cars on their neighbours’ lands and they had sent out “numerous formal notices”.
A member of the family posted their friction with the council on Facebook, which provoked another wave of widespread backlash against the council’s private land use permits. Community members say the incident shows the council’s overreach.
Jenny, a family member, said that on 10 February, when she came home from dropping her kid at school, she found the council officers were loading their car onto the back of a tow truck in their backyard. Three unregistered cars were towed away on the day without any notice, according to the family.
In retrospection, the family first heard from Casey Council in October last year regarding some unregistered cars in their backyard and the shipping containers. They said they moved quite a few cars straight away.
“We’ve always been compliant. Now then, the council officer came back again and said, I can see that you’ve moved a few cars. We need some more moved, but I’m happy to give you a bit more time. This is all happening over the Christmas New Year’s Eve period. That was the last time I spoke to him,” Jenny recalled.
“If I hadn’t come home, I wouldn’t have known who’d taken the cars because there was nothing left. We’ve got no notice that this was going to happen.
“The council officer told me that they had been sent paperwork. I haven’t received anything. And he goes, it was legally sent. My opinion of legally sent is registered mail or something where you’ve got to sign. That’s not happened.”
According to a statement provided by Casey Council, the family was storing their unregistered vehicles on the neighbouring property. After three months of unfruitful communication, the council sent out a formal notice that provided details of the vehicles that were impounded and how they could be released.
City of Casey acting director Community Life Callum Pattie said after receiving complaints from the community, officers inspected a property in Hampton Park.
“Six unregistered cars, three shipping containers, multiple boats, jet skis and trailers were found, and after an investigation, the owner of these items was identified as the occupant of the neighboring property located adjacent,” he said.
“Council attempted to reach out and engage with both the owner of the unregistered vehicles and the property owner without success.
“The owner of the unregistered vehicles lives adjacent to where the items were found and has been storing these items on land; they are not the owners of and do not have the authority to use.
“Council has been in contact the property owners of where the items were found to be stored. This property is owned by a local church, who purchased this land in 2015 and who have confirmed they have no lease agreements relating to their adjoining property.”
Council stated that no vehicles were removed from the property of the vehicle owner, and officers did not enter the property of the vehicle owner.
The family said it was their property, and they had legal documents to back up their ownership.
They also said council officers left no ticket after the impounding.
“They left no tickets. I said, do I get something? He goes, no. You’ll get something in the mail,” Jenny said.
“We’re waiting for this supposed paperwork to arrive out of thin air.
“We want our property back, but we don’t know where they took them.”
Jenny said the permit for unregistered vehicles was a money grab.
“It’s $150 to apply and then $250 per car and the permit only for three months. This is just a money grab,” she said.
Star News was unable to reach the local church.
Libertarian MP David Limbrick said what the council did was outrageous.
“It is government overreach at its worst,” he said.
“Many people moved to this area so they would have the space to work on projects on their property. For many motoring enthusiasts in particular, it’s their passion and their life.
“Property rights are supposed to be protected by the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. The council has absolutely no right to be marching onto people’s properties and taking cars.
“I hope that the new councillors will step up to get rid of these draconian permits and take back control of the council from the bureaucrats.”
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party Victoria MP Jeff Bourman said Casey Council’s private land use permit policy was a clear overreach.
“This instance is an example of what can happen when councils are given so much power,” he said.
“I understand there’s some contention about the status of the land at the rear of the rate payer’s premises, but that doesn’t excuse just coming and taking cars.”
He said if City of Casey wasn’t so busy taking cars from people’s backyards, they’d be able to deal with the real issues.
During the Christmas period last year, inaccurate wording about private land use permits, which is a part of the local law, on Casey Council’s webpage caused significant backlash and raised the awareness of the policy in the community.
After the website information was corrected, the community was still concerned about the law itself.
According to the law, a permit is needed when there are more than two unregistered vehicles on private land, which many residents believe is an overreach.
Council told Star News in January that the council’s involvement with a private land permit started with complaints, and the final application of a private land use permit is on a case-by-case basis.
It revealed that from July 2023 to December 2024, a total of 20 private land use permits were issued in the City of Casey.
Council added that in the last five years, the council had impounded vehicles from only 10 private properties.
