From 1 July 2017, the Infringements Act 2006 (Vic) was changed as part of Victoria's fines reform process, including new ‘social justice initiatives' that affect people experiencing vulnerability. On 31 December 2017, the Fines Reform Act 2014 (Vic) commenced, creating Fines Victoria. This resulted in significant further changes to the infringements system and substantially shorter timeframes for dealing with infringements and fines.
Please be aware of these reforms in relation to any infringements assistance that you are providing to your clients.
We are in the process of updating Homeless Law in Practice. Justice Connect Homeless Law pro bono lawyers should read our further materials about the changes here (password needed), before doing any fines work after 1 July 2017. Please speak to your supervising lawyer, team leader or Homeless Law staff for more information.
This section sets out the information you should try to obtain from the client in the initial interview and in subsequent days. It also provides some guidance about advice the client should be provided with at the initial interview (for example, regarding timeframes, urgency and potential options).
When you are attending clinics, you may want to take these checklists with you to make sure you get as much relevant information as possible:
This instructions checklist provides guidance about the types of information you should try to obtain from the client at the initial interview. You do not need to go through it in an exhaustive way, but it's a helpful prompt. Often clients will not have clear memories or records of these details, but piece together what you can.
Confirm with the client whether they admit to the commission of the offences (and if so, any factors that are relevant to the client committing the offences) or if they have any other valid excuse.
Generally, Homeless Law clients meet the definition of special circumstances and so you should ensure that you obtain all the information you need to apply for an internal review (for infringements and reminders) or revocation (for enforcement orders/warrants) on the basis of special circumstances. If your client is relying on special circumstances, it means that your client is admitting to committing the offence and pleading guilty.
At the initial consultation, you should make sure that you provide your client with on-the-spot advice about the relevant timeframes, risks (including of enforcement) and possible options available (see step-by-step guide).
In most cases, clients do not present complete documentation in respect of fines and it is not possible to obtain copies of the original infringement notice.
If the client does provide copies of the infringement notice, it will contain details about:
Once you have collated all the information and documentation you can from the client you should contact the Infringements Registrar requesting details of all outstanding fines.
The Infringements Registrar is generally able to provide a record of enforcement orders, open court fines and infringement warrants, as well as a copy of certain infringements and penalty reminder notices. You should check with the Infringements Registrar if there are particular agencies that they cannot provide the details of and contact those enforcement agencies directly.
You may be able to make a request over the telephone (after providing a copy of your Authority to Act) to obtain these details, however, you may need to put the request in writing, in which case you can use the below templates.
The Infringements Registrar will generally respond to such a request within four weeks with details of all outstanding enforcement orders, infringement warrants and court-imposed fines. An example of a list of outstanding infringements is available here. You will notice on the letter from the Infringements Registrar that each matter has an option code. Option code A and B indicates infringement court matters and code C and D indicates open court fines. Option code D indicates that there is a warrant to imprison.
For speeding, red-light and tolling fines and handwritten fines (which refers to fines issued on the spot or fines attached to a vehicle by Victoria Police or VicRoads but excludes parking fines), your client can obtain details of his/her outstanding fines and the stage that they are at online by filling in the required fields on the www.fines.vic.gov.au website. Your client cannot, however, obtain details of parking and local council fines and public transport fines online and must contact the enforcement agency directly.
The contact details of the enforcement agencies that our clients commonly receive fines from and the Infringements Registrar are below:
Once you have obtained details of all of the outstanding fines, you should contact the client to advise him or her of all outstanding fines and their options. Depending on the circumstances of the client, the best way to communicate this advice may be either by telephone, face-to-face or by letter. Once you have advised a client of their options, you must obtain their instructions on how to proceed.
If your client has already provided you with general instructions on how to proceed, you should then contact the client to advise him or her of all outstanding infringements and confirm his or her instructions.
Generally, Homeless Law clients meet the definition of special circumstances and so will instruct you to seek internal review (for infringements and reminders) or revocation (for enforcement orders/warrants) on the basis of these special circumstances. Refer to the comments in this table regarding the current limitations of the internal review process.
For fines where withdrawal or revocation is not available (for example, open court fines or fines for excessive speeding or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol), other options will need to be discussed with the client (including, for example, establishing if a payment plan is feasible and, if it is, identifying what amount they are able to pay).
When explaining the special circumstances process, please advise your client about the following key considerations before confirming their instructions: