Victoria Legal Aid

Exceptional circumstances

Read about how you may be eligible to have your fine reviewed if you can show you had exceptional circumstances when you broke the law and got a fine.

You may be able to have your fine reviewed if you can show you had 'exceptional circumstances' when you broke the law and got a fine.

You will need to ask Fines Victoria to review enforcement of your fine. This is called ‘enforcement review’.

If your review is successful, Fines Victoria will cancel enforcement and send your fine back to the agency that fined you. The agency may then withdraw your fine, issue a warning or choose to enforce your unpaid fine in the Magistrates’ Court. If the court finds that you had exceptional circumstances, they may waive the fine or reduce the amount you have to pay.

What are ‘exceptional circumstances’?

There is no clear definition of exceptional circumstances, but if something happens that is out of the ordinary, unavoidable or unexpected, and this caused you to receive a fine, you may have ‘exceptional circumstances’. For example, you may be able to show exceptional circumstances because a medical emergency, or motor vehicle breakdown, caused you to get a fine.

What are 'special circumstances'?

‘Special circumstances’ are different to exceptional circumstances. Special circumstances mean you couldn’t control the behaviour, or understand the unlawful behaviour, because at the time of the fine you:

  • had a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness
  • had a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or volatile substance
  • were a victim of family violence, or
  • were homeless.

Even if you didn’t have special circumstances at the time you got the fine, you may still apply to have your fines reviewed if you can show that you have serious long-term circumstances and it is not possible for you to either pay your fines or deal with them in other ways, such as completing activities or treatment.

If there are special circumstances, you should apply to Fines Victoria for enforcement review on the grounds of special circumstances.

For more information to help you with this process, go to How to make a special circumstances application.

If you are a victim of family violence, you may also be able to apply under the Family Violence Scheme. Read more about the Family violence scheme.

When you can apply

If you want to apply, you must:

  • have received a notice of final demand from Fines Victoria for your unpaid fine
  • accept that you broke the law. This means that, unless the fine is withdrawn, you will have to plead guilty at court and there would be a record of this.

If you think you did not break the law, for example, you were not driving the car at the time of the fine, get legal help.

How to apply

When a fine is not paid, Fines Victoria can take action against you. This is called ‘enforcement’.

To have enforcement of your fine cancelled, you must prove to Fines Victoria that you had exceptional circumstances at the time of the fine.

Step 1 – Ask for a list of your fines

Write to or visit Fines VictoriaExternal Link to ask for a list of all your unpaid fines. Fines Victoria may take a few weeks to get back to you. Depending on the fines you have, you may also be able to get a list of your unpaid fines online from Fines VictoriaExternal Link .

Step 2 – Get supporting documents

When making an exceptional circumstances application to Fines Victoria, it is important to provide documents (or other evidence) in support of your application. They should help explain why you should not have to pay the fine because of your exceptional circumstances.

For example, if you got a fine because of a medical emergency, then you could get a letter from the doctor or hospital confirming this. If your car broke down, then you could provide receipts from a towing service and/or a mechanic.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, then you may also wish to provide some evidence of your financial situation – for example bank statements, current bills or letters from your creditors or financial counsellor (if you have one). It is important to note that financial hardship is not enough on its own to be considered exceptional circumstances, but it is a factor that can be taken into account.

Step 3 – Apply for an enforcement review

Once you have a list of your fines, and any documentation to support your application, you can ask Fines Victoria to review the agency's decision to give you the fine. This process is called ‘enforcement review’.

Fines Victoria will determine whether, because of your circumstances, they should enforce the fine.

Download our sample letters

To make this process easy for you, we have provided samples letters for you. Download How to apply for a review of your fine if you have exceptional circumstances.

Going to the Magistrates’ Court

If Fines Victoria decides you have exceptional circumstances, it will cancel enforcement of the fine and refer the matter back to the agency that fined you. The agency may decide to withdraw the fine and/or issue an official warning instead. However, the agency may also withdraw the fine and decide to take you to court over the fine.

If this happens, the offence will be referred to the Magistrates’ Court to be dealt with as a criminal offence.

If your matter is referred to court you will get a charge and summons telling you when to go to court.

Read more about going to court about your special circumstances.

You should take copies of all the documents you provided to Fines Victoria to court. You should give these documents to the magistrate and explain that you applied for exceptional circumstances enforcement review.

The court will consider this information when making a decision about your sentence and what happens to your unpaid fine.

Other support

Find out how you can get other support for fines and infringements.

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 14 September 2022

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