The enforcement of infringements in Victoria is governed under the Infringements Act 2006 (‘the Act’). Fines Victoria is the relevant government agency that deals with infringement notices pursuant to the Act.
If you have recently become aware of unpaid infringement notices from Fines Victoria, you should first check to see what stage the infringement, or fine, is at. You can do this by visiting the Fines Victoria website or contacting Fines Victoria directly.
There are a number of different stages in the enforcement of an infringement notice. The stage at which you receive notice of your fine, or choose to deal with your fine, could impact your options for dealing with that fine. In this blog post, we break down those options for you.
Infringement Notice
When you first receive an Infringement Notice, you have a number of options available to you:
- pay the fine;
- request an internal review, including requesting a withdrawal in place of an official warning;
- nominate the responsible driver (if applicable);
- negotiate a payment plan if you cannot afford to pay the fine upfront;
- elect to take the matter to Court, in order to dispute the fine or dispute the amount that should be paid;
- seek an enforcement review if special circumstances apply;
- apply to withdraw the fine under the Family Violence Scheme; or
- apply for a work and development permit to pay off the fine.
If you are considering taking the matter to Court, contact Galbally Parker Lawyers for legal advice and representation. There are a number of considerations to take into account in disputing an infringement, including the risk of a criminal conviction and/or increased penalties.
Penalty Reminder stage
If you don’t pay your Infringement Notice by the initial due date, you will be sent a Penalty Reminder Notice. At this stage, you have an additional 14 days to deal with your fine and the same options that were available to you at the Infringement Notice stage.
Notice of Final Demand or Enforcement Warrant stage
If you don’t pay your Penalty Reminder Notice by the due date, you may receive a Notice of Final Demand. You have 21 days from the date of receiving this notice to deal with your fines. Once your fines have progressed to this stage, your options are extremely limited. Importantly, you cannot elect to take the matter to the Magistrates’ Court or nominate a responsible driver. If your fines have reached this stage, you should seek legal advice immediately. The consequences of not dealing with your fines at this stage are serious. In addition to accumulating administrative fees which can substantially increase the amount owed, Fines Victoria may:
- suspend or prevent you renewing your driver licence;
- suspend or prevent you renewing your vehicle registration;
- prevent you from transferring your vehicle registration out of your name;
- make a deduction from your bank account, wage or money owed to you;
- charge and sell land you own.
Fines Victoria may otherwise apply to the Magistrates’ Court for an enforcement warrant. If this is issued, the Sheriff’s Office may take one of the following enforcement actions against you:
- wheel clamp your vehicle;
- remove the number plates from your vehicle;
- seize and sell your personal property; or
- arrest you to appear before a judge or magistrate.
Seeking an Enforcement Review
If your fines have progressed to the Notice of Final Demand or Enforcement Warrant stage, you may be able to seek an Enforcement Review – provided that Special Circumstances apply to you. These ‘special circumstances’ include mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness, a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol, homelessness or family violence at the time of the offence.
You can also seek an Enforcement Review on the grounds of severe disabling long-term circumstances that mean it is impracticable or unfeasible for you to deal with the fines, even if those circumstances did not exist at the time of the offence. These circumstances should not be solely related to financial hardship. If you are unsure whether you might be entitled to seek an enforcement review, book a consultation with one of our lawyers to discuss your circumstances. Galbally Parker Lawyers has successfully assisted many people in preparing and submitting Enforcement Reviews. These reviews require detailed submissions and extensive supporting material.
Alternative options
If you are not entitled to an Enforcement Review and your fines have progressed past the Penalty Reminder Stage, you will need to consider how you pay the infringements. You can pay the total amount of the debt in full, contact Fines Victoria and make an application to pay in regular instalments, or ask for more time to pay. A payment plan may be made at any time before the registration for enforcement of the infringement penalty. Payments can be made monthly or fortnightly or deductions can be made from Centrelink payments. Fines Victoria may offer a payment plan if they decide, in their discretion, that the person should be offered a payment plan.
If you cannot pay your fines, you may be eligible to deal with your infringements by way of undertaking activities under a Work and Development Permit. This can include treatment, community work, approved educational courses or counselling. You may apply for this permit in certain circumstances, including circumstances of mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness, a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol, homelessness, family violence or acute financial hardship.
You might be eligible to have your infringements withdrawn by way of application under the Family Violence Scheme, if this is relevant to your circumstances. If the fines have been accrued as a result of family violence or you could not deal with the fines due to family violence, you should seek legal advice on making an application under this scheme.
I never received notice of my infringements – what do I do?
Galbally Parker Lawyers often speak to people who have changed their home or business address, and never received notice of their infringements because they were being sent to their previous address. Your infringements will be sent to the address which you have registered with VicRoads. If you have changed your address, you need to update your details with VicRoads within 14 days. Your fines will be considered to be received 7 days after the date of the notice, even if you no longer live there.
If you updated your address but were never served with an infringement notice at the time it was accrued, you have 14 days from the date of becoming aware of the infringements to lodge an Infringement Extension Application with Fines Victoria. If granted, an infringement extension gives you an additional 28 days to deal with your fines with the options available to you at Infringement Notice stage. This means you can nominate the responsible driver, submit a request to have the matter heard in court or apply for an internal review.
You should provide evidence to support your application, such as evidence showing that you moved house and when this occurred, evidence of when you updated your address and evidence of when you became aware of the fines. If you are unsure what supporting evidence would be relevant to your application, contact our infringement lawyers for legal advice.
There can be serious consequences for not dealing with your fines. If you need advice in relation to unpaid infringement notices, call Galbally Parker Lawyers on (03) 9670 8771 immediately.
Information accurate as of October 2024. This information may change at any time and so it is always important to get tailored and up-to-date legal advice.
