If you don't pay your fine and ignore all reminders, the matter will become more serious and costly.

The Director, Fines Victoria's powers

The Director, Fines Victoria can:

• suspend or prevent you renewing your driver licence
• suspend or prevent you renewing your vehicle registration
• make deductions from your bank account, wages or money owed to you
• charge and sell land that you own

If the Director, Fines Victoria has taken one of the above actions against you, you'll need to deal with your outstanding fines to stop further enforcement action.

If you continue to ignore your fine, the Magistrates' Court may issue an enforcement warrant, giving the Sheriff power to enforce that warrant and take action against you.

The Sheriff's powers

If the Magistrates' Court issues an enforcement warrant against you in relation to a particular matter and you don't pay, the Sheriff can:

• seize and sell your personal property
• wheel clamp your vehicle
• remove the number plates from your vehicle
• arrest you

• Registration and licence suspension Open / Close

  If you have an outstanding enforcement warrant, the Director, Fines Victoria can direct VicRoads to apply one or all of the following driver and vehicle sanctions:

  • suspend your driver licence
  • suspend your vehicle registration
  • prevent you from renewing your driver licence or vehicle registration
  • prevent you from transferring your registration.

  If you don't deal with your outstanding fines, VicRoads will notify you by mail if a driver and vehicle sanction has been applied. The driver and vehicle sanction will only be lifted if you deal with your outstanding fines.

  It’s an offence to:

  • drive an unregistered vehicle on public roads (the maximum penalty for a first offence is over $4,131 for an individual, and over $20,653 for a company)
  • to drive while your licence is suspended under this sanction (the maximum penalty for a first offence for an individual is over $1,652).

  These amounts are adjusted each July.

• Wheel clamping and number plate removal Open / Close

  If you have an outstanding enforcement warrant, the Sheriff can wheel clamp and detain your vehicle or remove number plates from your vehicle. This can happen anywhere, at any time.

  To wheel clamp your vehicle, a Sheriff's officer can:

  • enter or move your vehicle
  • ask for your keys
  • remove, dismantle or neutralise your vehicle's locking device.

  If your vehicle has been wheel clamped or your number plates removed, you should act quickly. You can:

  • call the number on the sticker affixed to your vehicle to speak to a Sheriff's officer or Fines Victoria about your options
  • pay your outstanding fine to have the wheel clamp removed or number plates returned.

  If you don't deal with your outstanding warrant after your vehicle has been wheel clamped, your vehicle may be detained, seized and sold at a public auction.

  It's a serious offence to tamper with or remove a wheel clamp. The maximum penalty for a first offence is 6 months imprisonment, or over $9,913*.

  If your number plates have been removed, it is a serious offence to remove or tamper with the sticker affixed to the vehicle, punishable by a fine of up to $9,913*

  *This amount is adjusted each July

• Seizure of property Open / Close

  If you have an outstanding enforcement warrant, the Sheriff can seize your property to the value of your outstanding debt.

  If you don't deal with your outstanding warrant after your property has been seized, the Sheriff will sell your property at a public auction.

  The Sheriff can seize your property without taking it immediately

  If this happens, you'll be asked to sign for the safekeeping of your property until it's taken by the Sheriff. If you refuse to sign for safekeeping, the Sheriff will remove your property right away.

  If you sign for safekeeping, the property seized must not be:

  • removed from its original location (where the notice was served)
  • interfered with or disposed of
  • defaced
  • damaged.

  If you do any of the above, you risk a large fine, jail or both

• Arrest Open / Close

  You may be arrested if a court has issued an enforcement warrant against you.

  Sheriff's officers can arrest you if a Seven Day Notice has been served and you don't:

  • pay your outstanding fine
  • enter into a payment arrangement
  • apply for a enforcement review
  • apply for a work and development permit (if you meet certain criteria)
  • have assets that can be seized and sold, or your assets don't meet the value of your outstanding debt.

  Once you're arrested, you may be:

  • released on a Community Work Permit
  • released on bail to appear at the Magistrates' Court at a later date
  • required to appear before a magistrate.

  Community Work Permit (CWP)

  A Community Work Permit allows you to work off your fine through community work. The hours you work is based on how much you owe.

  To pay your outstanding fine through a CWP:

  • the total amount outstanding must be equal to or less than the value of 100 penalty units (that’s 500 hours of community work or $16,522)
  • you must have the ability to do community work
  • you must agree with and meet the conditions of the permit.

  If you meet and agree with the conditions of the permit, you'll be released on the spot. If you refuse or you’re not eligible for a CWP, you'll be arrested and bailed to appear before a magistrate.

  These amounts are adjusted each July.

  Note: It's an offence to breach terms of your Community Work Program.

  Bail

  To be eligible for bail, you must agree to the 'Undertaking of Bail' conditions, and you'll be required to appear in court at a later date.

  If you agree to the conditions, you'll be released on the spot. If you're not offered bail, or don't agree to the conditions, you'll be taken to the nearest police station to appear before a magistrate within 24 hours.

  Note: It's a serious offence to breach terms of your bail. You can risk severe penalties, including imprisonment.

  Imprisonment and court hearings

  When you appear in court, the magistrate will give you or your representative a chance to speak. The magistrate may decide to:

  • make you pay the fine by instalments
  • reduce the amount you owe
  • make you do unpaid community work
  • adjourn (delay) the matter
  • imprison you.

  If the magistrate believes you have special circumstances (intellectual disability, mental illness or disorder, addition to drugs or alcohol; or are homeless or suffering from family violence) or exceptional circumstances, they may withdraw part, or all of the fine.

  Warrant to arrest

  If you've appeared in court and you don’t pay a fine ordered by a magistrate or judge, a warrant for your arrest may be issued. If this happens, a Sheriff's officer will serve you a Seven Day Notice notifying you of:

  • the amount owing
  • what will happen if you don't make the payment
  • the payment options available to you.

  You'll have 7 days to deal with your fine – you can apply to pay for a payment arrangement or work and development permit. To do this, you'll need to attend the court that ordered the fine to submit your application.

  If you don't finalise your matter within the 7 days, the Sheriff's officer will arrest you and take you to the nearest police station where you'll be:

  • released on bail if you agree to conditions to appear in court at a later date
  • brought before a judge within 24 hours.

  The judge may decide to:

  • make you pay the fine by instalments
  • reduce the amount you owe
  • make you complete unpaid community work
  • adjourn (delay) the matter
  • imprison you.
• Penalty units Open / Close

  Penalty units determine the amount a person is fined when they commit an offence.

  The current value of a penalty unit is $165.22*. So if you've received a fine for an offence that carries 2 penalty units, the total fine is $330.

  *This amount is adjusted each July.