Sanctions

If a Notice of Final Demand has been issued and you have not taken action to resolve your outstanding fine(s), the Director, Fines Victoria can apply one or more sanctions against you, to encourage you to deal with your outstanding fine(s).

The Director can apply the following sanctions:

Driver and Vehicle Sanctions

Fines Victoria has power under section 89 of the Fines Reform Act 2014 to apply a sanction on a driver licence or permit or vehicle registration.

Sanctions that can be applied include:

• suspending your driver licence or permit
• not allowing you to get or renew a driver licence or permit
• suspending the registration of any vehicle you are the registered owner of
• not allowing you to renew the registration of your vehicle(s)
• not allowing you to transfer the registration of your vehicle(s)
• not allowing you to register a vehicle(s) in your name

If your driver licence or permit is suspended, you cannot drive any vehicle for the period of the suspension. If your vehicle registration is suspended the vehicle cannot be driven by anyone for the period of the suspension.

Heavy penalties apply for driving unlicenced and for driving an unregistered vehicle.

Before a driver and vehicle sanctions is applied you may receive a ‘Suspension of Driver Licence and/or Vehicle Registration Pending’ letter from Fines Victoria. 

If you have received this letter, you must take immediate action to deal with the fine(s) listed in the letter or a sanction may be applied. 

The options available to deal with your fine(s) are listed on the letter you received. Your options include:

• paying the outstanding amount
• asking to pay in instalments
• requesting an enforcement review under one of the eligible grounds
• applying for a Work and Development Permit scheme, if you meet certain criteria
• applying for the Family Violence Scheme, if you meet certain criteria 

What happens if my driver licence or vehicle registration is suspended?

If your driver licence or vehicle registration is suspended, you will receive a letter from VicRoads with the details of your suspension.

You must deal with the fine(s) included in the sanction for the suspension to be lifted. 

You can deal with your fine(s) by:

• paying the outstanding amount
• asking to pay by instalments. You may be required to make an upfront payment towards your fine debt
• applying for an enforcement review under one of the eligible grounds. If you apply for an enforcement review, the suspension of your driver licence and/or vehicle registration may not be lifted until after your application is decided
• applying for the Work and Development Permit scheme, if you meet certain criteria
• applying for the Family Violence Scheme, if you meet certain criteria

For more information on Driver and Vehicle Sanctions see the Driver and Vehicle Sanctions Information Sheet (PDF).

Production of Information

If you have outstanding fines registered with Fines Victoria for enforcement, under Part 6 of the Fines Reform Act 2014, a Production of Information (POI) direction can be issued to a company or an individual. 

It is an offence to not follow a POI direction.

A POI direction requires you to complete a Statement of Financial Circumstances. This form provides us with information about your financial circumstances and ability to pay your outstanding fine debt. It can also require you to attend a location on a set date and time to answer questions about your financial circumstances. 

If you have received a POI direction, the Statement of Financial Circumstances will list any other information or documents you need to provide about your financial circumstances. 

The quickest way to submit a completed Statement of Financial Circumstances is via email to [email protected] or as an online enquiry. If you submit an online enquiry, select ‘Upload a completed form…’ and choose the option ‘Submit your statement of financial circumstances’. 

You can also submit the completed form by post to PO Box 14487 Melbourne VIC 8001.

What are my options if I don’t want to provide the requested information?

If you don’t want to provide the information requested in the POI direction, you can:

• pay the outstanding amount
• ask to pay by instalments
• apply for an enforcement review under one of the eligible grounds 
• apply for the Work and Development Permit, if eligible
• apply for the Family Violence Scheme, if eligible

You must act before the due date listed in the POI direction. Depending on the outcome of any application you submit, you may still need to comply with the direction.

It is an offence to not comply with a POI direction. If you do not comply:

• You may receive a penalty of more than $11,000 if you don’t have a lawful reason for not complying with the direction.
• You may have other enforcement action taken against you such as having your driver licence or vehicle registration suspended.
• Future applications for a payment extension or to pay your fines by instalments may be refused.
• You may be summoned to appear before the Magistrates’ Court for oral examination and to provide the information requested in the direction. If you don’t comply with the summons, the court can issue a warrant of arrest for you.

Declared Director

Under section 29 of the Fines Reform Act 2014, Fines Victoria has the power to serve a declared director notice on a director of a company that has outstanding fines. A notice can be served on a person identified by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records to have been a director of the company at the time of the offence(s).

Once you’ve been personally served with a declared director notice, you must act within 28 days. 

If you have been served with a declared director notice you may wish to seek legal advice. 

Your options for dealing with the notice include:

What happens after I make an application to the Magistrates’ Court?

If you make an application to the Magistrates’ Court for an order, you must provide a copy of the application to Fines Victoria. The quickest way to do this is via email to [email protected] or as an online enquiry. If you submit an online enquiry, select ‘Upload a completed form…’ and choose the option ‘Going to court’.

You can also submit the completed form by post to PO Box 14487 Melbourne VIC 8001.

You are required under the Fines Reform Act 2014 to provide a copy of the application to Fines Victoria. Once a copy of the application is received, Fines Victoria will suspend enforcement action on the fines listed in the notice until the court determines your application.

The Magistrates’ Court can decide to not to make an order. If the court does not make an order, you are required to pay the fines listed in the notice. 

If the court makes an order that you are not a declared director, you do not have to pay the fines listed in the notice. 

For more information on Declared Director see Declared Director Powers Fact Sheet (PDF).

Help and assistance 

If a sanction has been applied against you and you would like information on the options available, contact Fines Victoria on 1300 396 851.

If you need legal assistance, visit Federation of Community Legal Centres to find your local community legal centre or visit Legal Aid. For assistance with managing your finances visit Financial Counselling Victoria to find your local financial counsellor.

When you call us, you can ask to speak to someone in your preferred language. An introduction to the fines system in Victoria is also available in 15 languages.