This is important information. If you do not understand this information or would like to speak to someone about your fine, call Fines Victoria on (03) 9200 8111 or 1300 369 819 (for regional callers) and someone will be able to speak to you in your preferred language.

The Victorian fines system

A fine is a penalty for breaking the law. The purpose of fines is to support community safety and public order by discouraging unlawful behaviour.

The main fine types are infringement fines and court fines.

• Infringement fines are issued by enforcement agencies like local councils and Victoria Police. They are usually issued for offences such as traffic and parking offences. An infringement fine allows a person to deal with an offence by paying money, without the need to go to court or admit guilt. 
• Court fines are imposed by a judge or magistrate at court.

If you've received a fine

It's important to do something about your fine straight away. If you do nothing, the amount will increase, and it will become much more serious.

Here are your options:

Pay it now – the easiest way to pay your fine is online at fines.vic.gov.au.

Pay it off in regular payments – if you can't pay the whole amount right now, you can ask to pay it off in instalments. If you get Centrelink support, you can ask us to take it out of your payments. To pay by instalments, visit fines.vic.gov.au/Pay-by-instalments and fill in the online form.

Ask for more time to pay – to request more time to pay your fine, visit fines.vic.gov.au/Payment-extension and fill in the online form.

If someone else was driving – if an infringement fine has come to you in the mail, but you were not the driver at that time, you may be able to nominate the person who was driving, so that the fine can be re-issued to them. To nominate the driver, visit online.fines.vic.gov.au/Nominate and fill in the form. You should do this as soon as you can, to make sure the form can be accepted.

If you have been affected by family violence – if there is a link between your experience of family violence and your fines, you can apply for the Family Violence Scheme. For more details, visit fines.vic.gov.au/fvs.

If you want to work off your infringement fine – you may be able to work off your fines by participating in certain activities and treatment through the Work and Development Permit Scheme. This may be an option if you are vulnerable or disadvantaged and have, or are, experiencing homelessness, mental illness, family violence, acute financial hardship, alcohol or drug addiction, intellectual disability. For more details, visit justice.vic.gov.au/wdp.

If you want to see the photo – we take photos of speeding fines and red-light fines. To download the image, visit online.fines.vic.gov.au/View-image.

If you think we should review your infringement fine

You may be able to ask for a review of your fine if:

• you believe the decision to issue you with the fine was unlawful and you should not have been fined
• you did the wrong thing, but you have an exceptional reason for breaking the law
• the fine was issued to you in error and should have been issued to someone else, not you
• you didn't know about the fine – it wasn't sent to you or handed to you by an officer
• you had special circumstances – homelessness, mental illness, family violence, alcohol or drug addiction or an intellectual disability

If one of these applies, you can request a review. Visit online.fines.vic.gov.au/Request-a-review and fill in the online form. You should also include evidence to support your application.

Note: If a judge or magistrate in court gave you the fine you will need to ask that court for more information if you were not at the hearing, if you want the court's decision reviewed or if you want to know any other option available to you. You may wish to seek legal advice before you contact the court – visit www.fclc.org.au or call (03) 9652 1500 to find your local community legal centre.

If you don't do anything about your fine

When an Infringement Notice is issued by an enforcement agency, you must pay it by the due date.

If you don't pay the infringement notice, it will become a Penalty Reminder Notice and the cost of the fine will go up. You should pay the fine or contact the agency that issued the fine to talk about your options. Their contact number is on the notice.

If you still don't do anything about the fine, it becomes a Notice of Final Demand, and the cost of the fine goes up again. You should pay this fine by the due date or contact us at fines.vic.gov.au/contact-us.

If you still don't do anything about the fine:

• your licence or car registration can be suspended
• money can be taken from your bank account or your wage
• a warrant may be taken out in your name and the cost of the fine will go up even more and sheriff’s officers may get involved. For example, sheriff’s officers can take your vehicle and sell it.

If a judge or magistrate gave you a fine in court, this is called a court fine. If you did not pay your fine on the day of the court hearing, Fines Victoria will issue you with a Court Fine Collection Statement (CFCS). When you get a CFCS, you should pay the fine by the due date(s) listed on the statement.

You can ask to pay the fine off slowly in instalments or ask for more time to pay. Contact us at fines.vic.gov.au/contact-us.

Your CFCS will also contain other important information about your fine. If you do not understand your CFCS, you should contact us as soon as possible at fines.vic.gov.au/contact-us.

If you do not do anything about a court fine:

• your license or car registration can be suspended
• money can be taken from your bank account or your wage
• a warrant may be taken out in your name and the Sheriff may get involved. For example, sheriff’s officers can take your vehicle and sell it.

About the Sheriff

The Sheriff of Victoria (the Sheriff) is an officer of the Supreme Court of Victoria, responsible for actioning warrants in Victoria for civil and criminal matters

This includes warrants for:

• unpaid fines registered with Fines Victoria
• unpaid fines imposed by a magistrate or judge following an appearance in court.

Sheriff's officers have authority under legislation to action warrants. They can visit your home or workplace or stop you at a roadblock to discuss your warrant.

You should not be afraid of sheriff’s officers. They want to help you to come to an arrangement about your unpaid fines, and they will treat you respectfully. They will explain the options available to you and help you understand what you need to do.

If it is necessary, sheriff’s officers have the power to:

• come to your address and ask for payment (this is an official process called a ‘payment demand’)
• stop you at a roadblock
• wheel clamp, detain or sell your vehicle
• search for and seize property to sell
• remove the number plates from your vehicle
• arrest you so that you are brought before a magistrate or judge or release you on a community work permit to undertake community work under certain conditions