In every pocket (no pun intended) of Victorian Society former premier Daniel Andrews demanded his Treasurer look to see what could be stolen from the poor unsuspecting Victorians to help fund $38 billion of infrastructure blowouts and $218 billion for a radial train station set (SLR) that no one wants.
Here is the perfect example where people in Victoria pay around a $1 billion of fines each year about twice the rate per capita than NSW.
Andrews, Pallas and Allan are drunk on fleecing Victorians of their cash.
Vic Labor has run out of money and ideas and should vacate the Treasury benches.
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Victoria is the fines capital, expected to rake in almost $1b this financial yearByJosh Gordon and Clay Lucas The AgeMarch 19, 2024 — 5.30am
Victoria is the nation’s fines capital, with the state government under pressure to scale back its punitive approach to revenue-raising as growing numbers of low-income earners face severe financial stress.
The state is expected to rake in
almost $1 billion from fines this financial year, by far the highest figure across Australia.
Refugee Matt Karimi was near penniless when twice fined $925 in 2022 for driving an unregistered car.CREDIT:CHRIS HOPKINS
The rise in penalties follows increased use of advanced technology that helps authorities detect vehicles that are unregistered. The government aims to process 2.8 million traffic infringement notices this financial year, compared with 1.8 million in 2022-23.
In 2022-23, the government issued an extraordinary 656,186 warrants for unpaid traffic fines – exceeding its own target by 46 per cent, thanks to special “debt enforcement campaigns” and the deployment of automatic numberplate recognition technology in sheriff vehicles.
No other jurisdiction is so dependent on fines for cash.
An analysis by
The Age shows the $942 million worth of fines collected in Victoria is expected to account for about 1.1 per cent of the state government’s total revenue in 2023-24, well above the average of all Australian states – 0.7 per cent.
The NSW government expects to collect $682 million in fines this financial year, equivalent to just 0.6 per cent of its total revenue.
Spread across the entire population, Victoria’s total fine haul translates to about $137.40 per person, compared with a national average of $96.90 per person, and $81.60 per person in NSW.
In Queensland, where the population is smaller than in Victoria, the government expects to collect about $814 million in “fines and forfeitures” in 2023-24. That works out at just under 1 per cent of Queensland’s total revenue, but $148.40 per person, which is higher than Victoria’s per capita rate.
With fine levels automatically rising each year in line with the soaring cost of living, legal experts warn that many people on low incomes – already forced to drive greater distances to employment – are being pushed beyond the brink.
“A lot of fines effectively criminalise poverty,” Inner Melbourne Community Legal senior lawyer Shifrah Blustein said.
Louisa Gibbs, chief executive of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, said fines had an “overwhelmingly disproportionate impact on people experiencing disadvantage”.
The Victorian government is being urged to follow NSW, which since 2020 has offered a 50 per cent discount on some fines for people on unemployment benefits.
An analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office, commissioned by the Victorian Greens, found that adopting the NSW system would cost the Victorian budget $199 million over five years in lost revenue, and $801 million over a decade.
Gibbs said community legal centres across Victoria supported a discount system similar to that in NSW.
“We urge the Victorian government to apply this simple yet effective policy to all fines, to reduce the huge burden on people already in financial difficulty,” she said.
Asked about the possibility of following NSW’s lead, a state government spokesperson said: “We know that there are people doing it tough and that’s why we have a range of supports and options in place to help people pay off their fines, including in instalments and through special programs targeted at people with special circumstances or without the ability to pay.”
Victorians who are struggling to pay fines can request a review or apply for a work and development permit offering non-financial options. People with serious personal issues, disorders or difficulties can apply for a “special circumstances review”.
Matt Karimi received two fines in 2022 for driving his car while it was not registered, each for $925 (the fine for driving an unregistered car has since increased to $962).
Karimi was unemployed and, due to his status as a refugee without citizenship, had stopped receiving government support payments in 2021.
When he received the first fine, the father of three was near penniless, getting by on $200 a month given to him by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, which was also helping to pay his rent.
Karimi received the first fine for driving a car given to him by a friend that he did not realise was unregistered. The second time he was fined, he knew the car he was driving was unregistered but risked a fine to visit the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray – to ask for help paying the first fine.
“So much money,” Karimi, 53, told
The Age through an interpreter.
He was also unable to afford to pay his $878 car registration. As a refugee from Iran and in Australia for 11 years, his bridging visa status meant he was ineligible for a concession card. Those with a healthcare card or a pensioner concession card get a 50 per cent discount on their car registration.
Karimi got help from Moonee Valley Legal Service, which applied on his behalf to Fines Victoria to review the fine. The review was rejected, but a payment plan was set up.
Lawyers from community legal centres said women fleeing family violence were often those fined for driving an unregistered vehicle, as many were experiencing economic abuse at the hands of their partner.
“I have many clients who have driving-unregistered fines in their name, typically because the person using violence managed the money in the relationship and the client had no access to their own funds,” said lawyer Alexandra Kersey from western suburbs community legal centre WEstjustice.
Too many were “placed into a cycle of poverty” by fines, she said.
Discounts for concession card holders who received a COVID-19 fine
were introduced by the Victorian government during the pandemic. These discounts have not been extended to other sorts of fines.
Blustein compared fines to utility or car registration bills, which both provide concession rates – unlike fines in Victoria. “The impact on that person is so much worse than for someone who also does the wrong thing but who can afford to pay,” Blustein said.
In Victoria, the penalty for driving an unregistered vehicle is now $962, compared to
$704 in NSW and
$556 in South Australia.
In Tasmania, the fine is $287.
Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson said fines were also hurting many truck drivers, and forcing some – particularly sole operators – out of the industry. He said he was aware of a Victorian truck driver fined $758 in the past fortnight for not ticking a box in his work diary. “It is government process gouging the industry,” he said.
Internationally, in countries such as Finland, Sweden and Germany, some road fines are based on a person’s wage rather than a set amount. A wealthy Finnish businessman
made headlines last year when he was fined €121,000 ($200,000) for speeding because his ticket was based on a percentage of his income.
With Kieran Rooney
