Australia Post fined after StarTrack van parked in disabled spot in Armadale, Melbourne

Australia Post has issued a grovelling apology after a delivery driver was fined for parking their van in a disabled spot during a 'lapse of judgement'.

The StarTrack truck was spotted partially parked in a reserved spot directly in front of a designated disabled space on Hunting Tower Road in Armadale in inner-city Melbourne on Tuesday. 

A shocked passer-by took and shared a photo which went viral on social media which has since been deleted.

Australia Post, who owns StarTrack, confirmed the driver was fined by parking inspectors, which will be paid by the postal giant.

It's understood the driver left the van unattended for six minutes to make a delivery and has since expressed remorse for the incident.

Australia Post has since reminded its drivers of its protocols when delivering packages.

An Australia Post spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the driver had a 'lapse in judgement' and apologised for the blunder.

'We recognise and respect that accessible parking bays must be kept available for the people who need them,' the spokesperson said. 

'Our posties and drivers comply immediately with any direct requests from local authorities, and there is no circumstance in which we would pay a fine as an alternative to moving a vehicle.'

StarTrack was initially operated by both Australia Post and Qantas who both held a half of its shared until Australia Post took full control in 2012.

Despite operating as a different arm of Australia Post, both services have had access to a dedicated fleet of six freight aircraft flown by Qantas since 2016.