Victoria Legal Aid

COVID-19 and fines

Your options and what to do if you have a fine related to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

You may have received a fine if you were accused of breaking COVID-19 coronavirus rules. If you have a fine, there are five things you need to know:

  • if you have a concession card, you can ask for your fine to be reduced
  • if you cannot pay your fine, you can ask for more time or to pay by instalments (part-payments)
  • if you think the fine was wrong or unfair, you can ask for it to be withdrawn (cancelled). If it is not withdrawn, you can challenge the fine in court. That means you ask the court to decide whether you should pay a fine and how much you must pay
  • do not ignore your fine. If you ignore your fine, you may have to pay more money. There can be other serious consequences, like having your car wheel-clamped or your property taken and sold to pay for the fine
  • if you are not sure about your rights, you can get legal advice. See Other support for fines and infringements.

Why was I fined?

The Victorian Government made pandemic orders to help manage the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Those pandemic orders had to be followed, the same as laws.

You can see the public Pandemic Order RegisterExternal Link to see what the rules were when you were fined.

Before 16 December 2021, the Chief Health Officer made directions under a state of emergency declared by the Victorian Government. Those directions had to be followed, the same as laws. You could be fined if you were accused of not following the Chief Health Officer’s directions. The directions changed often. To find which directions applied when you were fined, you can look at the Victorian Government’s Gazette ArchivesExternal Link or Search GazettesExternal Link . It is complicated – you may have to look at lots of these documents to find which directions applied when you were fined. You can contact Victoria Government Gazette if you need help searching their website.

Who could give me a fine?

There were different agencies making sure the pandemic orders (or previously, the directions made by the Chief Health Officer) were followed. Police and other authorised people could fine you if you did not follow these rules.

We say ‘police’ in this information because it is most likely to be the police who gave you a fine. However, the same rules and processes apply if you were fined by someone else.

If police thought you were not following pandemic orders, they could choose whether to fine you or give you a warning instead of a fine. If you were fined, you will get a document called an infringement notice.

What are my options?

If you have a concession card, you can apply for your fine to be reduced. You must do this before you pay your fine. If you have fully paid your fine, you cannot get a refund. For more information, see Fines Victoria Concession scheme for COVID-19 finesExternal Link .

If you have a fine, you have four options:

Do not ignore your fine. If you ignore a fine, you may have to pay more money. There can be other serious consequences, like having your car wheel-clamped or your property taken and sold to pay for the fine. See What happens if I ignore my fine?

What if I cannot pay on time?

If you agree with your fine, but cannot pay it on time, you can:

If you have a concession card, you can apply for your fine to be reduced in some situations. See Fines Victoria Concession scheme for COVID-19 finesExternal Link .

If you have lost some or all of your income because of COVID-19 coronavirus, you may be able to get help from Services Australia (Centrelink)External Link . You may also be eligible for the Victorian Government’s Financial and other support for COVID-19External Link .

If you are having trouble with debts and managing your money, you can get help from a free financial counsellor through the National Debt HelplineExternal Link .

What if I do not agree with the fine?

You should take action before the payment due date. This is usually 21 days from the date police gave you the fine.

You can ask police to review your fine. This is called an ‘internal review’. If you ask for an internal review, the police have 90 days to review your fine. You do not need to pay the fine while you are waiting for their response. You can ask for an internal review if:

  • you think police made a mistake giving you the fine. For example, what you did was not against the law, or the police thought you were a different person
  • you have a reasonable excuse. The law says you are not doing anything wrong if you have a reasonable excuse for not following the directions
  • there were exceptional circumstances. That means there was something very unusual or special about what happened
  • you have special circumstances. Special circumstances include mental illness, intellectual disability, drug addiction, or if you were experiencing family violence or homelessness.

You can apply online to request a reviewExternal Link or contact Fines VictoriaExternal Link .

Police may agree or refuse to withdraw your fine. Police may withdraw your fine and give you an official warning instead. A warning means that police say what you did is against the law and you must not do it again. You can only ask police to review your fine once.

If police continue with your fine, you still have these options:

What happens if I ignore my fine?

Do not ignore your fine. If you ignore your fine, you may have to pay more money. If you keep ignoring fines, there can be other serious consequences. For example, you may have to go to court, have your car wheel-clamped or a sheriff can take your property and sell it to pay for the fine.

If you have fines that you have not paid, you may still have options. For example, you may be able to ask a court to revoke (cancel) your fines if you have special circumstances. You may be able to work off your fines by doing counselling or volunteer work. It will depend on your situation.

It is important to get legal advice as soon as possible. See Other support for fines and infringements.

What if I am under 18?

If you were under 18 when you got the fine, there is a different process called the Children and Young Persons Infringement Notice System (CAYPINS). If you do not pay your fine, it will go to the Children’s Court and you will be sent a Notice of Court Case.

When you get the notice, you have five options:

  • pay your fine before the due date on the notice
  • ask for more time to pay
  • ask for the fine to be reduced
  • ask for your hearing to be adjourned (put off to a later date)
  • ask for a magistrate in the Children’s Court to hear your case if you do not think you should pay a fine.

For more information about this process, see Children’s Court of Victoria Infringements and FinesExternal Link .

If you are not sure about your rights, get legal advice. See Other support for fines and infringements.

For more information about young people’s legal rights, download or order a free copy of Am I old enough? Common legal issues for young people.

More information

Learn more about legal issues and COVID-19 coronavirus.

Read our page on fines and infringements.

Download or order a free copy of our publication Fines: the law, your options.

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Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.

We help Victorians with their legal problems and represent those who need it most. Find legal answers, chat with us online, or call us. You can speak to us in English or ask for an interpreter. You can also find more legal information at www.legalaid.vic.gov.au

Reviewed 25 July 2023

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