The City of Perth has many Sister City relationships but none quite as special as this one.
Siblings Ayla, Tarryn and Kirsten have their own special sisters’ city relationship – they all work for the City of Perth.
Tarryn and Kirsten are parking officers while Ayla – who started with the City in March 2022 – works is in customer service.
“Yes, that means I take the phone calls that come in about my sisters,” jokes Ayla.
In reality, the parking officers face very few complaints, thanks to body-worn camera equipment that captures their interactions with the public.
“The City did receive one letter about me supposedly being rude to someone but the camera showed the person wasn’t even at the car where I left the ticket,” laughs Kirsten.
The women agree that being a parking officer requires a thick skin – “nobody likes to get a ticket” – but also discretion to suit the circumstance.
“I remember once seeing a family struggling with screaming kids and trying to get back to the car – I said, ‘don’t worry, you’re not getting a ticket, you’ve got enough on your hands’,” says Tarryn.
“We’re not there to ruin your day, we’re there to achieve compliance and to ensure that everyone gets access to parking bays throughout the day,” adds Kirsten.
The women say that education is an important and enjoyable part of their role and they are often asked all sorts of details about the City.
“If we don’t know, we get them to call Ayla,” laughs Tarryn, who started with the City in 2017.
When another job in parking was advertised, two years later, she suggested to sister Kirsten that she apply.
Kirsten is now the youngest parking officer to have worked at the City of Perth.
She and Ayla had been working in senior positions at a supermarket in their home town of Boddington, when she applied for the City job.
“So, I went from working with one sister to working with the other and now I work with both,” says Kirsten.
The women say they love their roles at the City and only wish they had more siblings to join them.
For information on available City jobs visit perth.wa.gov.au/careers
