Unpaid fines and Fines Victoria

If Fines Victoria agree that your fine should be enforced they will serve you with a notice of final demand. Fines Victoria will charge you extra costs. You normally have 21 days to pay after getting this notice. The notice will explain your options. If you pay the amount on the notice by the new due date there is no further action.

Asking for a payment arrangement

If you cannot afford to pay, you can ask Fines Victoria for a payment arrangement. You can apply in person or in writing. A payment arrangement is where you can:

• get more time to pay the fine
• pay the fine off bit by bit in instalments.

Asking for a review of your fine

You can also ask Fines Victoria to cancel enforcement of your fine if you:

• disagree with the fine, because you think you did not break the law
• you did not know about the fine and it was not handed to you personally
• have special circumstances that apply to you
• had exceptional circumstances when you got the fine.

Fines Victoria will review your application and will either decide to enforce the fine or cancel enforcement of the fine and send it back to the agency. This process is called ‘enforcement review’.

Apply for a work and development permit

If you are getting support from an approved community agency, counsellor or doctor, they can apply to Fines Victoria on your behalf for a work and development permit. This scheme allows you to ‘pay’ for your fine by doing unpaid work, having counselling or participating in training or education.

Apply under the Family Violence Scheme

You can apply to Fines Victoria under the Family violence scheme if you are a victim of family violence and:

• you were fined in a situation where the family violence contributed to the offence, or
• someone else was driving your vehicle when the offence happened, and because of family violence you were unable to nominate that driver.

If Fines Victoria cancels enforcement

If the enforcement of your fine is cancelled, Fines Victoria will send your fine back to the agency that issued the fine. The agency may:

• withdraw the fine
• withdraw the fine and issue an official warning
• issue a charge-sheet and take you to court.

If you applied for enforcement review on the ground that you did not know about the fine and it was not handed to you in person, then the fine will go back to the agency that issued it and any extra costs charged by Fines Victoria will no longer apply.

You will have any of the options available to deal with the fine as you would have had before it was registered with Fines Victoria. This means that you can pay the fine, ask for a payment arrangement, nominate another driver if you were not driving the vehicle when the offence was committed, or ask the agency to review the fine.

If Fines Victoria does not cancel enforcement

If you do nothing, or if Fines Victoria reject your application for enforcement review, Fines Victoria will act to enforce the fine. They may:

• direct you to produce information (usually about your income and assets)
• apply for a summons for oral examination (you will have to explain your financial circumstances)
• organise to have money regularly taken from your wages or bank account
• direct VicRoads to suspend your driver licence or vehicle registration, or
• put a charge over any land you own.

Fines Victoria will apply to court for an enforcement warrant. The warrant means the sheriff can come to your home to get the money. The court charges you extra costs again. Once an enforcement warrant is in place, the sheriff can immobilise (wheel-clamp) or detain your motor vehicle until you pay the fine.

If you still do not pay the fine, the sheriff will give you a written seven-day notice. This is your final warning to take action to resolve the fine. At this point, you must either pay the fine in full or apply for enforcement review.

After seven days, you can no longer apply for enforcement review. The sheriff can come to your home to get the money or take property from you to pay off the fine. If you cannot pay or do not have enough property to cover what you owe, the sheriff can arrest you. You may be released on a community work permit or you may be bailed to appear in the Magistrates’ Court.

If you have to go to the Magistrates’ Court, the magistrate can send you to prison. They will only do this as a last resort. Depending on your circumstances, the magistrate may also:

• adjourn the hearing so that you have more time to pay
• place you on a payment plan or an instalment plan.
• discharge the fines in full or in part.

Get legal advice immediately if the sheriff comes to your home.

Other support

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