You may be able to have your fine reviewed if you can show you had 'exceptional circumstances' when you broke the law and got the fine.
If the fine has not yet been registered with Fines Victoria, you will need to ask the agency that issued the fine to review it on the ground that you have exceptional circumstances. If your application for review is successful, the agency may then withdraw the fine, issue a warning, or issue you with a summons to deal with the fine in the Magistrates' Court.
If your fine has been registered with Fines Victoria, you will need to ask Fines Victoria to review the enforcement on the fine on the ground that you have exceptional circumstances. This is called ‘enforcement review’. If your application for review is successful, the agency may then withdraw your fine, issue a warning, or issue you with a summons to deal with the fine in Magistrates’ Court.
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.
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'?
You can also apply to have a fine reviewed due to special circumstances.
Special circumstances are different to exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances relate to the situation in which you got the fine. If you have special circumstances, it means that you had:
- a substantially reduced ability to control the behaviour that led to you getting the fine
- or a substantially reduced ability to understand that your behaviour was against the law
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.
You may also have special circumstances if you can show that, due to serious long-term circumstances it is not practical for you to either pay your fines or deal with them in other ways, such as completing activities or treatment.
You can make a special circumstances application either to the agency that issued the fine or, if the fine has been registered with Fines Victoria, to Fines Victoria. 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 for a review of exceptional circumstances
You can apply for review on the ground of exceptional circumstances any time up until the expiry of a seven-day notice. A seven-day notice is a final warning from Fines Victoria before they may arrest you or seize your property to deal with the fine. It is very important to seek legal advice immediately if you receive a seven-day notice.
How to apply for a review of exceptional circumstances
Step 1 – Ask for a list of your fines
If you do not know what fines you have, you should visit Fines Victoria to ask for a list of all your unpaid fines. Fines Victoria may take a few weeks to get back to you.
Alternatively, if you have the details of at least one unpaid fine, you can get a list of your fines online at Fines Victoria.
Step 2 – Get supporting documents
When making an exceptional circumstances application, it is important to provide documents (or other evidence) in support of your application. These documents should show 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.
Step 3 – Apply for a review
Once you have gathered your supporting documentation, you can make your exceptional circumstances application on the Fine Victoria website.
Download our sample letters
To make this process easy for you, we have provided sample letters for you.
Possible outcomes and going to the Magistrates’ Court
If you applied for enforcement review by Fines Victoria, and Fines Victoria decides that 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. The agency may also decide to withdraw the fine and decide to take you to court over the fine.
If you applied for internal review by the agency that issued the fine, and the agency decides that you have exceptional circumstances, the agency may withdraw the fine and/or issue an official warning, or they may withdraw the fine and then issue you with a summons to deal with the fine in the Magistrates’ Court.
If the agency decides to issue you with a charge and summons, the offence will be referred to the Magistrates’ Court to be dealt with as a criminal offence. The summons will tell you when you need to go to court. You should get legal advice before your court date. Go to Going to court for more information.
You should take copies of all the documents you provided to Fines Victoria to court. If you end up pleading guilty or are found guilty of the offence, then this information may be relevant when the magistrate makes a decision about how to sentence you.
Other support
Find out how you can get other support for fines and infringements.
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