Invercargill City Council is looking to introduce number plate recognition technology for parking enforcement, following concerns about public behaviour towards parking wardens.
The council has put out a tender for vehicle-mounted technology that would work alongside handheld devices to "improve parking accessibility and safety for our officers".
The move comes after news last year that parking wardens sometimes worked in pairs due to increased bad behaviour from the public.
Council manager Jonathan Shaw said the technology would bring multiple benefits including improved carpark turnover, more positive interactions for compliance officers, and better data on parking habits.
"This technology enables us to move with the times and is meant to compliment, not replace, our existing methods of compliance," Shaw told Local Democracy Reporting.
"Council's tender process for this technology is still in the preliminary stages, and exact costs will depend on the successful vendor."
Shaw explained the technology and enforcement officers would serve different purposes. The number plate recognition system would focus on time-restricted and metered parking, while officers would continue monitoring illegal parking, investigating complaints and issuing infringement notices for expired WOFs or registrations.
"It [the technology] is also able to collect data around car parking occupancy rates and demand, which will further support any future development of car parking infrastructure in the city," Shaw said.
The technology is becoming increasingly common across New Zealand. Porirua City Council began using a patrol car with the technology this week, while a similar system in Hastings and Havelock North caught more than 5000 vehicles in five months during 2025.
Invercargill's tender process began on 21 April and closes on 19 May.