WA's soon-to-be biggest shopping centre has moved quickly to introduce paid parking for the first time, electing to start charging customers and staff before its $350 million redevelopment is opened to the public.

Westfield Carousel confirmed its new parking system, which allows customers to park free only for the first three hours, would begin on July 23.

Westfield Carousel Parking Fees Hours Rate 0-3 FREE 3 – 4 $3 4 – 5 $6 5 – 6 $9 6 – 7 $12 7 - 8 $15 8 + $20

Scentre Group, which owns and operates Westfield Shopping Centres in Australia, said it needed to launch its ticketless parking system in advance of the redevelopment opening for "logistical and operational efficiency" reasons.

Westfield Carousel will charge shoppers who stay longer than three hours, escalating amounts starting at $3 and up to $20 for a maximum eight hours or more.

Under the system, shoppers will be tracked by cameras using licence plate recognition technology when they enter the car park. On leaving, if they have stayed longer than three hours, they will need to pay a fee to exit.

Customers who spend over $200 in a single day will be given an extra hour free, and movie-goers get an extra hour by validating their cinema ticket at the pay station. Disabled parking will remain free for customers with a valid ACROD permit.

The fee schedule is considerably less than Scentre Group charges at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney, where only the first two hours are free and charges range from $8 up to $60 for stays longer than seven hours.

Westfield Bondi Junction Fees Hours Rate 0-2 FREE 2 - 2.5 $8 2.5 -3 $10 3 - 3.5 $15 3.5 - 4 $20 4 - 4.5 $25 4.5 - 5 $30 5 - 5.5 $35 5.5 - 6 $40 6 - 6.5 $50 6.5 - 7 $55 7 + $60

Retail staff at Westfield Carousel will be charged a discounted rate of $2 for up to four hours and $3 for the whole day.

Pay parking increasing at shopping centres

It will be the first time Scentre Group has charged for parking in WA, having already rolled out its licence plate recognition technology at other centres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

The group would not be drawn on whether the pay scheme would be adopted at other shopping centres.

"There are a number of factors that play a role in setting the carpark rates, with planning approval considerations and obligations just one component of how rates are determined," a Scentre spokeswoman said.

"At this stage there are no current plans to introduce paid parking at Innaloo and Whitford City."

Department of Transport guidelines encourage major shopping centres to introduce "time limits and fees" to discourage commuter use and ease congestion.

But WA Transport Minister Rita Saffoti wouldn't be drawn on whether she supported paid parking.

"They are commercial decisions and it will be interesting to see the public response," Ms Saffioti said.

"The advantage that the suburban shopping centres had in relation to the city may disappear because some of the complaints about the city has been about paid parking, so that's one of my initial reactions.

"Ultimately I'd like to encourage more public transport to the centres but that's something we're continuing to work on."

The parking ticket machines will soon force you to pay before letting you leave if you overstay at Westfield Carousel. ( ABC News: Hugh Sando )

Shoppers will benefit: Westfield

On its website, Westfield said the new parking system would free up parking spots for genuine customers.

"As part of our exciting redevelopment, there was an opportunity to be the first shopping centre in Western Australia to introduce Park+ — a new, world-class parking system that uses licence plate recognition.

"We know from customer feedback that parking has been a challenge in the past and this new system will mean less congestion, streamlined entry and exits and more parking spaces for Westfield customers, all without paper tickets."

Scentre Group is yet to reveal when the redeveloped Westfield Carousel would officially open but said it would be "sometime in the second half of 2018".

An impression of the outside of the Westfield Carousel after its proposed development. ( Supplied: Scentre Group )