It is common for criminal offences and traffic offences to be dealt with by issuing a fine. A fine is a financial penalty that may be given by the police, by a court, or by another authority. This page deals with fines as a sentencing option in Australia.
Penalty units
In most states and territories, fines are imposed in the form of a number of penalty units. A penalty unit is a monetary amount that increases incrementally over time as the value of money changes. The value of a penalty unit is different in each state and territory.
In South Australia, fines are imposed in dollar amounts and not in the form of penalty units.
Infringements
Fines may be issued in the form of an infringement notice or ‘on-the-spot fine’. This may occur when a person is caught speeding or commits other traffic offences or for summary offences such as jaywalking or trespass. In some jurisdictions, minor drug offences such as possession of cannabis can be dealt with by an on-the-spot fine. This means that no conviction is recorded.
When a person receives an infringement notice, they may simply finalise the matter by paying the fine. Alternately, they may elect to have the matter dealt with by a court. This may be because they do not admit the offence, because they have a legal defence, or because there were strong extenuating circumstances that they want to put before the court. If the court finds the person guilty of the offence after they have elected to have it dealt with by a court rather than as an infringement, the penalty it imposes will generally be higher than the original fine.
Court-ordered fines
A court that finds a person guilty of an offence may impose a fine. The fine may be the whole sentence or it may be imposed together with one or more other sentencing orders such as a term of imprisonment or a good behaviour bond. When a court sentences a person to a fine, it will take into account the minimum and maximum fine that applies to the offence as well as the seriousness of the offending and the offender’s financial situation.
If a person is pleading guilty to offence for which a fine may be imposed, they should inform the court if they are suffering financial hardship and of what their weekly income and expenses are. In some circumstances, where an offender is under a lot of financial strain, the court may be persuaded to impose another penalty rather than a financial penalty.
In all states and territories, young people may be sentenced to fines for criminal offences. However, a young person will generally only be sentenced to a fine if they have the capacity to pay.
Mandatory fines
Some offences carry a mandatory minimum fine. This means that the court does not have the discretion to impose a fine of a lesser amount than the minimum or to impose another type of penalty rather than a fine.
An example of an offence that carries a mandatory fine is drink driving. Mandatory minimum fines apply to drink driving offences in all states and territories. The amount of the mandatory minimum fine depends on the specific drink driving offence and varies between jurisdictions.
Paying a fine
If a person receives a fine and can pay it in full, they should look at the details on the fine for how it can be paid. Fines can generally be paid online using a credit card, at a Post Office or by mail. If a person receives a fine and does not have the capacity to pay it as a lump sum, they may organize to pay in installments.
A person who wants to organize to pay a fine off in installments should contact the fines enforcement unit in the state or territory where the fine was issued before the date payment is due. For example, in the Northern Territory, offenders need to contact the Fines Recovery Unit to discuss making an agreement to pay a fine off in installments. For example, a person whose only income is a Centrelink payment may be permitted to pay their fine off at a rate of twenty dollars per fortnight. This amount may be organized to be deducted from their Centrelink payment automatically.
If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Taylor Rose.
