This page provides help with the most common questions about your fines

• Court Fines

  What is a court fine?

  A court fine is a financial penalty ordered by a court following a hearing for an offence.

  Why am I being contacted by Fines Victoria and not the court who issued my fine?

  From January 2018, the Magistrates’ Court and the County Court can refer eligible court fines to Fines Victoria for collection and management.

  Fines Victoria provides a single-point for customers to manage their fines, for example, by enabling the merging of court fines with infringements from different agencies into a single payment arrangement.

  Last time I had a court fine it was managed by the issuing court. What has changed?

  Under the Fines Reform Act 2014, the courts can refer fines and costs to Fines Victoria for collection and management.

  This is to reduce the administrative burden on the courts and allow most fines to be managed by Fines Victoria.

  Can I view my court fine online?

  A court fine will become available online when the:

  • matter has been referred to Fines Victoria
  • a Court Fine Collection Statement has been issued.

  Information can be accessed through the Your Fines section of the website. To view the information about a fine, you will need to verify your details using the:

  • obligation/court case number
  • hearing date.

  In addition, you may need one of the following:

  • licence number
  • vehicle registration
  • date of birth.

  What information is available about my court fine from the Fines website?

  After verifying your details, you will be able to view the fine’s:

  • obligation number/court case number
  • stage
  • amount due
  • due date
  • venue of the hearing.

  Note that the Fines website will not contain information on the charges related to the court fine.

• Paying Court Fines

  I had a court hearing and received a fine, how do I pay my court fine?

  If you have recently been to court and received a fine you can pay your fine:

  Online

  Court fines can be paid online on the fines website homepage.

  In person

  Court fines can be paid in person by presenting your court case reference number to Fines Victoria at 277 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 or a Justice Service Centre.

  Sending a cheque or money order (with your name and court case number on the back of the cheque or money order) to:

  Fines Victoria
  GPO Box 2041
  Melbourne VIC 3001

  By phone

  Some court fines can be paid over the phone if they are in our system. If you want to pay by phone, please call (03) 9200 8111 to see if your particular fine is in the system so you can pay by phone.

• Court Fines Collection Statement

  Why have I received a Court Fine Collection Statement?

  You have received a Court Fine Collection Statement because a court has ordered you to pay a fine and the court has referred the fine to Fines Victoria for collection and management.

  I have not received a Court Fine Collection Statement yet. Why not?

  Fines Victoria is undertaking a phased rollout of Court Fine Collection Statements. Your Court Fine Collection Statement may not have been printed and mailed at this stage.

• Court Fines community work, schemes and payment arrangements

  Can I convert my court fine to community work?

  Fines Victoria cannot convert a court fine to community work. However, the court that issued the fine may be able to.

  For more information, you should consult the issuing court's website or seek legal advice.

  Can I combine my court fine into a payment arrangement with other fines?

  This depends on the terms set by the court for your court fine.

  Fines Victoria must collect payment instalments in line with the terms set by the court. This means that in some cases, we cannot combine the court fine with other fines.

  You can contact Fines Victoria to find out if your court fine can be combined into a payment arrangement with other fines.

  Are the Work and Development Permit scheme or Family Violence Scheme options for finalising a court fine?

  The Work and Development Permit scheme and the Family Violence Scheme are not options for finalising a court fine.

  I would like to request/change a payment arrangement for my court fine, but I have not received a Court Fine Collection Statement.

  Fines Victoria can create or change a payment arrangement where the:

  • Court Fine Collection Statement has been issued
  • A payment arrangement has been permitted by the court order.
• Court Fines rehearing and appeal

  I did not attend court and I want to dispute the fine, can I apply for a rehearing?

  Fines Victoria cannot determine if you are eligible for a rehearing.

  For information on applying for a rehearing, you should consult the issuing court's website or seek legal advice.

  I attended court and I want to dispute the fine, can I apply for an appeal?

  Fines Victoria cannot determine if you are eligible for an appeal.

  For information on applying for an appeal, you should consult the issuing court's website or seek legal advice.

• Nominating the responsible driver

  I wasn’t driving at the time of the offence. Why can I no longer nominate? What can I do?

  If you need to nominate the responsible driver for your fine, do it early.

  Once the fine progresses to Notice of Final Demand stage, nominating another driver is not an option. You will therefore be liable for the fine and demerit points may be applied to your licence.

  You can learn more on the nominations page.

  I already paid my fine and now it is closed, but I wanted to nominate the responsible driver. What can I do?

  Fines should not be paid if you intend to nominate the responsible driver. This is stated in all infringement notices. Once you nominate, a new notice will be issued to the nominated driver for them to pay.

  If you have paid but need to nominate, you need to contact Fines Victoria to reopen your fine, nominate the fine and get a refund. You can contact Fines Victoria on (03) 9200 8111

  For regional callers 1300 369 819
  For international callers +613 9200 8111
  Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
  (except public holidays)

• I didn't know about my fine

  I didn’t know about my fine. I now have a penalty reminder notice. What can I do?

  If you were not issued an on-the-spot fine, we recognise there are circumstances where a person is unaware that an infringement notice has been served.

  In these instances, a person may apply for an internal review on the grounds that you were not aware of the original fine (‘person unaware’). You must apply within 14 days of becoming aware of the fine. The application should be accompanied with supporting evidence.

  I didn’t know about my fine. It is now at enforcement stage with Fines Victoria. What can I do?

  If you just found out that you have a fine, but it has progressed to a Notice of Final Demand or Warrant, there are options available to you, but you need to act quickly as there are strict time limits.

  Tolling, red light and speeding fines (excluding excessive speeding (>25km/h over the limit)

  This answer only relates to tolling, red light and speeding fines (excluding excessive speeding fines) - If you did not receive your fine in person and have only just found out about it, you can make an application to the Magistrates’ Court for an extension of time to deal with it.

  If your extension of time application is granted by a magistrate, you will receive 28 days to deal with the fine as if you were aware of the original infringement notice. This includes reinstating your options (for 28 days) to nominate, elect to go to court, or submit a review.

  An application for extension of time must be made to the Magistrates’ Court within 14 days of you becoming aware of the fine and be accompanied by an affidavit or by a statutory declaration setting out your grounds for seeking an extension.

  Contact your local Magistrates’ Court for further information.

  If you are unsure what type of fine you have contact Fines Victoria before making an application.

  Parking and other fines (excluding excessive speeding (>25km/h over the limit)

  If you did not receive the fine in person and have only just found out about it, you can apply for Enforcement Review on the grounds that you were unaware of the original fine. If your application is granted you will have the opportunity to deal with the fine as if you were aware of the original infringement notice. This includes reinstating your options to nominate, elect to go to court or submit a review.

  We must receive this application within 14 days of the date that you became aware of your fine.

  I have lost my licence for excessive speeding (25km/h over the limit) fine, but I did not know about this fine. What can I do?

  Fines for excessive speed are different from other fines, they’re more serious. A conviction will be recorded 28 days from the Infringement Notice issue date.

  If you were not aware of the notice before the conviction took place, depending on the circumstances of the offence, you can make one of the following applications for an extension of time to the Magistrates’ Court:

  Dispute the fine (Object to the notice)

  If you want to dispute the fine, you can make an application to the Magistrates’ Court for an extension of time to object to the notice. If your extension of time application is granted by a magistrate, the infringement is cancelled, and you will be served with a charge and summons with a date to appear to in court.

  You were not the driver at the time

  If you were not the driver at the time of the offence, you can make an application to the Magistrates’ Court for an extension of time to submit a nomination statement. If your extension of time application is granted by a magistrate, you will be provided more time to submit a nomination statement to Victoria Police.

  You must apply to the Magistrates’ Court for an extension of time within 14 days of you becoming aware of the fine and be accompanied by an affidavit or a statutory declaration setting out why the extension is sought. The magistrate will not grant the application unless satisfied that you were not aware of the fine before the infringement notice took effect as a conviction.

• Company fines of more than $3,000

  Why has my company received a traffic fine of more than $3,000?

  Companies are issued traffic fines with a body corporate infringement notice amount.

  As companies do not have a driver licence on which to apply demerit points, an authorised officer of the company must nominate the driver responsible. Nominating the responsible driver ensures that demerit points are applied to the driver's licence and they are held accountable for the offence. Enforcing demerit points results in safer roads.

  Provided you nominate the responsible driver before the fine reaches Notice of Final Demand stage, the fine will be reissued to the nominated person with an adjusted penalty amount.

  You can learn more on the nominations page.

• My options

  What options are relevant to me to deal with my fine?

  The options available to you depend on what stage in the fines lifecycle your fine is at.

  The notice you have received will indicate the stage of the lifecycle your fine is at. You can also find out about the stage of your fine by logging in to the fines website to view your fine detail.

  See the fines lifecycle flowchart (PDF download) to find out what options are available to you.

• I need help with my fines

  What can I do if I need help to manage my fines?

  If you need support or legal assistance you can contact Victoria Legal Aid or find your local community legal centre.

• Do fines expire?

  Does my fine ever expire?

  Once a fine is registered with Fines Victoria it does not expire and can be enforced at any time.

• I’ve been getting fines at my address but they aren’t addressed to anyone who lives here.

  I’ve been getting fines at my address but they aren’t addressed to anyone who lives here.

  If you received a fine that does not belong to anyone residing at your address, you do not need to pay the fine and you will not be held liable for it.

  You can send the fine back marked with 'Return to Sender'. Where Fines Victoria is able to establish an updated address, records are amended accordingly.

  The law requires individuals to update their address with VicRoads within 14 days of a change of address.

• How can I be sure speed and red light cameras are accurate?

  I have received a fine for speeding. Can I have a copy of the camera test certificate?

  You can find a copy of the camera test certificate for fixed cameras on the Victorian Government's Cameras Save Lives website.

  How do fixed, mobile and point-to-point cameras work?

  Victoria's road safety camera system includes:

  1. fixed cameras (permanently positioned at approved locations)
  2. mobile cameras (devices that are rotated across approved mobile camera locations)
  3. point-to-point cameras

  You can find out more about these cameras on the Victorian Government's Cameras Save Lives website.

  How often are fixed/mobile/point-to-point road safety cameras tested?

  All Victorian fixed digital, mobile, point-to-point road safety cameras are tested annually by an independent testing officer in accordance with the Road Safety (General) Regulations 2009.

  You can find out more about the testing of cameras on the Victorian Government's Cameras Save Lives website.

  Can you explain the detection of red-light offences?

  Some fixed road safety cameras enforce red light offences only, while others detect both red light and speed.

  If a vehicle crosses over the stop line against a red traffic light and enters the intersection, this triggers the camera to take an image.

  The camera is designed to take 2 images of an offending vehicle that combine to prove that it;

  1. entered the intersection after the light turned red; and,
  2. continued through the intersection against the red light.

  The camera also captures the time elapsed between a traffic light turning red and the vehicle entering the intersection.

  If a light changes to red while you are already in the intersection, you will not be issued a fine (the camera is only activated by a vehicle driving over the stop line after the light has turned red).

  You can find out more on the Victorian Government's Cameras Save Lives website.

   

• My fine photo

  There are two vehicles in my fine photo. How do you know the person speeding was me?

  Before a speeding fine is issued, each offence is scrutinised thoroughly.

  Fixed road safety cameras can monitor multiple lanes of traffic with the use of sensors embedded into the road surface or radar technology.

  In addition, offences are reviewed by two qualified independent officers, who must agree that an offence has occurred for the matter to proceed. Finally, the fine is only issued once Victoria Police has assessed the matter and is satisfied that an offence has occurred.

  You can find out more about the speed verification process on the Victorian Government's Cameras Save Lives website.

  I have a speeding fine on the Hume Freeway or Peninsula Link. Why is there more than one time-stamp on my offence photo?

  Both the Hume and Peninsula Link camera systems enforce point-to-point (calculated average speed) and instantaneous speed (the speed as detected at the location of a camera).

  If you have more than one time-stamp on your offence photo, it is likely you were fined because your average speed between two cameras on the freeway was higher than the speed limit.

  The point-to-point cameras on the Hume Freeway and Peninsula Link determine vehicle speed by taking time-stamped, digital photographs of all vehicles and calculating the time taken to travel between one camera site and the next. The average speed is calculated by time-over-distance. If the average speed exceeds the speed limit, a fine is issued.

  The distance between two road safety camera sites is measured with accuracy, using licensed surveyorís survey certificates.

  I have a fine for driving through a red light. Why are the time-stamps the same?

  Red light offence photographs of alleged offences can have the same time stamps if the photographs are taken less than one second apart.

  In this instance, the first photograph is taken when a vehicle enters an intersection after the light has turned red. The second is taken when a vehicle reaches a designated point in the intersection. If the second photograph is triggered less than one second after the first, the two images can display the same time.

  Vehicles travelling faster through a red light are more likely to have the same time on the fine photo.

• Suggest a camera location

  How can I request for a road safety camera to be installed?

  If you would like to suggest a location for a fixed road safety camera, you can submit a ‘Suggest a Camera Location online form' to the Fixed Camera Site Selection Committee (Committee).

  The Committee is chaired by Victoria Police and has representatives from VicRoads and the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

  When considering camera requests, the Committee also considers whether mobile cameras may be used in the place of fixed cameras.

• I saw a camera flash but I was not speeding

  I saw a camera flash but I was not speeding. Did I get fined?

  If you see a road safety camera flash and you are certain you were not speeding or driving against a red light or red arrow, do not panic.

  There are a couple of reasons why the camera may have flashed;

  • it may be in a testing phase
  • it may have been capturing an offence in another lane.

  You can find out more on the Victorian Government’s Cameras Save Lives website.

• Demerit points

  How can I check my demerit points?

  The VicRoads website provides information on how you can check your demerit points.

• I sold my car but I received a fine after the date I sold my car. What can I do?

  If you have sold your car, you and the buyer are required to provide information to VicRoads for the registration to be transferred successfully

  You may be liable for any traffic offences that the buyer incurs if the registration is not transferred. If you as the seller receive traffic infringements in your name, you will need to submit a Nomination Statement stating that you are no longer the owner of the vehicle, including details of the buyer and proof that you transferred the registration to the buyer.

  If you would like further information about the transferring of registration, you may like to contact VicRoads.