Free Parking UWA
Where parking on the Crawley campus is actually free, what the paid bays cost in 2026, and the time it takes to find one.
Rates checked 15 August 2026
There are four ways to park free at UWA Crawley: outside paid hours, for the first 30 minutes of a session, on an ACROD permit, or in a motorcycle bay. Only the last one is free for a full weekday on campus. Everything else is pay-as-you-go — annual and semester permits were abolished in 2025, so anything quoting $180 a year or $90 a semester is out of date.
Paid parking runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm only, through the EasyPark app or a parking machine. Eligible students pay $1.00 an hour capped at $4.00 a day. Staff pay $1.50 an hour capped at $7.50. Visitors — and students who fall outside the eligibility rules — pay $3.00 an hour with no cap at all.
And the fee is only half of it. UWA is explicit that a space is not guaranteed at peak times, so a paid bay still costs you the mid-morning lap of car parks that comes before it.
How UWA Parking Works
Paid Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm
Evenings, weekends and public holidays are free.
First 30 minutes free
One sub-30-minute session a day, per user, any bay.
EasyPark or a machine
Start a session in the app, and pick the zone you parked in.
Enforced by plate recognition
Every bay is checked against active sessions.
UWA Parking Rates by Bay Colour
Bays are colour-coded and the colour decides both who may park and what they pay. Charges apply Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
| Bay | Who | Rate | Daily cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Eligible students | $1.00/hr | Capped at $4.00/day |
| Yellow | Visitors | $3.00/hr | No cap |
| Red | Staff | $1.50/hr | Capped at $7.50/day |
| Green | Visitors (special reserved) | $3.00/hr | No cap |
| Motorcycle | Motorcycles, scooters, mopeds | Free | No permit required |
White bays are reserved at all hours and pink bays are for loading only. Green bays serve the clinics, the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery and the University Club. EV charging is limited to 4 hours on low-speed chargers and 30 minutes on fast chargers.
The student rate has a catch
What It Adds Up To Over a Year
Hourly rates hide the real number. These are worked examples using UWA's own caps — your own pattern of days will land somewhere on this scale.
| Per year | Who | Working |
|---|---|---|
| $208 | Student, 2 days a week, 26 teaching weeks | 52 days × $4.00 cap |
| $416 | Student, 4 days a week, 26 teaching weeks | 104 days × $4.00 cap |
| $600 | Student, 5 days a week, 30 weeks (incl. study periods) | 150 days × $4.00 cap |
| $1,872 | Student in a restricted postcode, 4 days a week, 6 hours a day | 104 days × 6 hrs × $3.00 (no cap) |
| $1,725 | Staff, 5 days a week, 46 working weeks | 230 days × $7.50 cap |
| $0 | Anyone on a motorcycle, scooter or moped | Free bays, no permit |
Fuel, rego, insurance and servicing are all on top — our car vs scooter running-cost comparison for Perth puts a number on the lot. So is the other cost nobody puts on a sign — see below.
The Cost That Isn't on the Sign: Time
UWA says plainly that a space is not guaranteed at peak times. In semester, $4.00 buys you the right to go looking — and some mornings that is 25 minutes of your day before you have even parked.
By car
Up to 25 min
Just to find a bay at peak
- The car parks nearest the buildings fill first. By mid-morning you are circling.
- Then an EasyPark session, then the walk back in.
- Ten minutes a day, four days a week, 26 weeks is 17 hours a year.
- The usual fix — leave 20 minutes earlier — is the same cost, paid up front.
On a scooter
Straight in
A motorcycle bay is almost always free
- A bay takes a fraction of the space, and carries a fraction of the demand.
- They still have room when the car parks do not.
- Bays sit near the buildings, not out at the perimeter.
- No app, no machine, no ticket. Park and walk.
Times are what drivers and riders on campus report, not a published UWA figure. The figure UWA does publish is that spaces are not guaranteed at peak times.
Where Parking at UWA Is Actually Free
There are exactly four cases. Three of them are narrow. One of them is not.
Outside paid hours
Before 8am, after 5pm, weekends and public holidays. Reserved and white bays still apply.
The first 30 minutes
One free sub-30-minute session a day. Per user, not per visit.
ACROD bays
Unaffected by the move to pay-as-you-go.
Motorcycle and scooter bays
All day, every day, no permit, no app session. The only one that covers a full weekday on campus.
Kerbside around Crawley and Nedlands is no loophole either: $3.00 an hour, or $16.00 for ten hours, Mon–Fri 8am–6pm.
Motorcycle and Scooter Parking Is Free
UWA's wording is short and unambiguous: "Motorcycle parking is free in designated areas. Motorcycles can not park in standard car bays." No permit, no EasyPark session, no cap — because there is nothing to cap.
Use a marked bay
Motorcycle bays carry their own icon on the official map. A bike in a standard car bay is an infringement, any hour.
Check the current map
Car parks were renumbered for 2026. Bay lists on old forum threads no longer match the ground.
Still worth a plan B
Bays near the busiest buildings do fill in semester — far later than the car parks, but they fill.
The Part Most People Miss: You Can Ride One on a Car Licence
"Free motorcycle parking" sounds like it belongs to someone else — someone with a motorcycle licence. In WA it does not. A full WA car licence — anything but a learner's permit — legally covers a moped: an engine no larger than 50cc, designed not to exceed 50km/h. No motorcycle licence, no separate test. Read the full WA licence rules.
In stock at our Dianella workshop
Sym Crox
Park it free in a UWA motorcycle bay, every day, with no app session and no permit. The $416 a year a capped student pays for a car bay — or the $1,725 a staff member pays — goes to zero, and so does the mid-morning lap of the car parks.
- 50cc
- Engine
- Automatic
- Twist and go
- Car licence
- No bike test in WA
- 6 years
- Factory warranty
UWA Parking Questions
Is there free parking at UWA?
Yes, in four cases. Paid parking only runs Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, so evenings, weekends and public holidays are free. The first 30 minutes of a session is free, once per day. ACROD permit holders were unaffected by the move to pay-as-you-go. And motorcycle, scooter and moped parking is free in designated motorcycle bays, all day, with no permit — the only option that is free during business hours for a full day on campus.
How much does it cost to park at UWA?
In yellow bays, eligible students pay $1.00 per hour capped at $4.00 a day, and visitors pay $3.00 per hour. Red staff bays are $1.50 per hour capped at $7.50 a day. Green bays are $3.00 per hour. Charges apply Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm only.
How long does it take to find a park at UWA?
UWA states plainly that spaces are not guaranteed at peak times. In semester the nearest car parks fill through mid-morning, and finding a bay can take 25 minutes before you have even started the walk in. Motorcycle bays are the opposite — a fraction of the space, a fraction of the demand, and generally room when the car parks have none.
Do you need a permit to park a scooter or motorcycle at UWA?
No. UWA states that motorcycle parking is free in designated areas and no permit is required. The catch is that motorcycles cannot park in standard car bays — you must use a marked motorcycle bay, which are shown on the official UWA parking map.
Why am I being charged the visitor rate as a UWA student?
The discounted student rate requires you to be enrolled in at least one current unit and to live outside UWA's restricted postcodes (broadly the 6214–6999 range). Students inside a restricted postcode are not eligible for a student pay-as-you-go account and pay the $3.00 per hour visitor rate, which has no daily cap. UWA has an exemption form if your circumstances warrant it.
How do you pay for parking at UWA?
Through the EasyPark app or at a parking machine. Enforcement is by Licence Plate Recognition, so the plate and the zone you select in the app have to match the bay you are actually in. The campus speed limit is 25km/h.
Can I ride a 50cc scooter to UWA on a car licence?
In WA, a full car licence (anything other than a learner's permit) covers a moped — a scooter with an engine no larger than 50cc that is designed not to exceed 50km/h. No motorcycle licence and no separate test. That is what makes free motorcycle bays reachable for most students and staff without extra licensing.
Sources — rates checked 15 August 2026
Every figure on this page comes from UWA or the City of Perth. We are a scooter dealership, not the university — check the official pages before relying on a rate, and tell us if something here has gone stale.