Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

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FINES AND PENALTIES (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL 2000

Mr Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.

The purpose of these bills is to consolidate and reform the current systems of court fine and infringement notice enforcement with a new, more efficient centralised enforcement regime, based on Best Practice models.

In February 1999, the Public Accounts Committee released Report No 33 entitled Inquiry into Fees, Fines and Outstanding Debts. This report raised a number of concerns including the level of outstanding debt, the growth of the debt, current inefficient collection methods and the need to consider more appropriate strategies to reduce the debt.

As a result of that report, the Treasurer approved the establishment of a task force to address the problems. The terms of reference emphasised the need to consider a solution to remove the use of courts to process infringement notices, possibly by an independent unit, and to explore alternative recovery mechanisms that would increase collection without sending defaulters to prison. The task force also tried to develop a scheme that encourages the early payment of debts, rather than relying on the issuing and executing of warrants of commitment as the only substantial incentive to pay. The task force noted that similar problems with outstanding debt applied to both infringement notice penalties and court imposed fines.

The task force has looked at the enforcement regimes in other jurisdictions and has come up with a scheme based on Australian Best Practice. The new Fines and Penalties Act is based on the New South Wales scheme, but with some significant differences. Rather than relying on imprisonment as the only significant deterrent, the new scheme enforces payment through a hierarchy of penalties, ranging from licence and vehicle registration suspension through to civil enforcement, community service orders and imprisonment. Imprisonment will only be imposed as a last resort, when a defaulter fails to complete a community service order.

Currently the enforcement of court fines and infringement notice penalties are dealt with separately and are spread over various pieces of legislation, some provisions of which overlap. The current enforcement procedures are not always consistent. For example, community service orders are not available to expiate an infringement notice penalty, but are available for court fines. The new Fines and Penalties Act will replace these various provisions with a stand alone Act to provide a more centralised process and a more coherent, accessible legislative structure. The Fines and Penalties (Consequential Amendments) Act amends Acts such as the Sentencing Act, Justices Act and Juvenile Justice Act to repeal provisions under those Acts dealing with the enforcement of court fines and infringement notice penalties. It also amends the Traffic Act to provide for the suspension of drivers licences and vehicle registration.

The framework of the new system of fine and infringement penalty enforcement is as follows:

(a) the establishment of a new unit to be known as the Fines Recovery Unit or FRU. This will be a separate registry of the local court which will have the role of managing the process of enforcement. It will be a sort of one-stop-shop for all aspects of fine recovery including the taking of payments, the making of time to pay arrangements and providing information to the public about the enforcement process. It will liaise with and coordinate other agencies involved in the infringement notice process. The unit will be headed by a director appointed under the Act; (b) enforcement procedures for infringement notices will require payment within 28 days of issue. If the penalty is not paid within that time, the issuing agency will post a courtesy letter allowing a further 28 days to pay. The person receiving the infringement notice will retain the right to elect to have the matter dealt with by a court. The issuing agency in some cases may also withdraw the infringement notice in order to prosecute in appropriate cases; (c) for a court imposed fine, the offender will have 28 days to pay the fine or to make arrangements with the FRU for extra time to pay, or to enter into an instalment arrangement; (d) if a court fine or infringement penalty remains unpaid after these due dates, the matter will be referred to the FRU for enforcement action; (e) the FRU will notify defaulters that they have 28 days to pay the fine or penalty and that failure to do so will result in the person’s licence being suspended or, if no licence is available, his or her car registration will be suspended. Defaulters will also be advised of further action that will be taken if he or she continues to be in default; (f) after the 28 day period, the FRU will refer the matter to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to determine whether there is an available licence or registration. If so, the licence or registration will be suspended until payment is received; (g) civil enforcement will follow if there is no licence or registration available for suspension, or the fine or penalty remains unpaid after a licence or registration has been suspended for three months; (h) the FRU can issue a property seizure order, a garnishee order or charge on land. The FRU will assess each case to decide which civil enforcement option is most appropriate; (i) if civil enforcement is unsuccessful or unlikely to be successful, the FRU can issue a community service order; and (j) in the event of a breach of a community service order, a warrant for the arrest of the defaulter will be issued and the police may take the person into custody to satisfy the outstanding amount, plus enforcement costs, at a rate of $100 per day.

Mr Speaker, the focus of the new regime is on creating a more efficient, centralised and coordinated process for fine enforcement – one that provides the public with certainty of process. It is recognised that the imposition of infringement notice penalties and court fines plays a significant part in our justice system. The regime is aimed at maintaining the integrity of the fine as an effective sanction for less serious criminal offences, whilst ensuring that it applies consistently to both court imposed fines and infringement penalties.

The regime under the new Fines and Penalties Act is also aimed at providing a more flexible enforcement process and ensuring that those that can afford to pay a fine, do so. By providing for a range of enforcement procedures and alternative methods of expiating a fine, early payment is encouraged. It is intended that current community service programs will be expanded, especially to accommodate the needs of indigenous Territorians. If cases of genuine hardship do arise, or if community service is not appropriate, the FRU is empowered to write off debts. Detailed guidelines in this regard are being prepared.

It should be noted that under the Fines and Penalties Act, juveniles will not be detained for non-payment of a fine. All other penalties under the Act will apply such as licence suspension and community service orders. The only way that a juvenile will now be able to be detained for non-payment of a fine is if the court specifically orders detention in default of payment of a court imposed fine.

Another important aspect of the new regime will be the improved payment facilities to ensure easier and faster payment methods. It is proposed that the FRU will be able to take payment by credit card or EFTPOS. It is anticipated that credit card payments over the phone will also be made available. The FRU will also be empowered to enter into instalment orders or time to pay arrangements. There is no time limit on the arrangements the FRU can make and it is the intention that offenders will be given every opportunity to pay the fine, taking into account their financial situation.

For infringement notice penalties, the alleged offender will have about 2 months to pay the debt before it is referred to the FRU for enforcement. Under the act, alleged offenders can then approach the FRU for further time to pay if they are having difficulties, and the FRU will be able to defer enforcement action.

Clearly, the most important aspect of the new regime will be the suspension of driver licences and vehicle registration. This will be the first penalty imposed on a defaulter (if a licence or registration is available) and is aimed at encouraging those who can afford to pay to do so at the earliest stage.

The rationale is that the Territory grants the privilege of a licence to drive on Territory roads and a person who defaults in the payment of a fine to the Territory can have that privilege removed. Defaulters will have their licence or registration removed until the fine is paid in full. This will apply to all fines, not only those imposed for a traffic-related offence.

It should also be noted that one of the most significant differences between the new Fines and Penalties Act and the New South Wales act is our approach to licence suspension. In other jurisdictions, there have been some concerns raised over the fairness of this enforcement method, especially because of the possibility of a person not being informed of a licence suspension in certain circumstances – for example, where there has been a change of address and the notice of suspension was not received.

The Fines and Penalties (Consequential Amendments) Act will therefore add a new provision to the Traffic Act to allow for police to give cautions where they are satisfied that a person is not aware of their licence being suspended. This will ensure that the suspension aspect of the new enforcement regime operates fairly. The caution provisions will allow for only one caution to be given in relation to a specific suspension, but will give police officers the power to issue permits at the time of giving a caution to enable the person to drive to a specified place - for example, to arrange payment of the outstanding fine.

Provisions have also been included that ensure that a person’s general car insurance as well as coverage under the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Act are maintained if their licence or registration is suspended under the Fines and Penalties Act.

All outstanding court-imposed fines current at the date of commencement of the new regime will be transferred to the new scheme. Outstanding infringement notices issued under the current Territory Infringement Notices Enforcement Scheme (TINES) under the Justices Act will also be transferred to the FRU for enforcement, but only via civil procedures such as warrants of seizure and sale and garnishee orders. It is proposed that an amnesty of 3 months will be offered once the new regime is in place, before the outstanding debt is enforced by the FRU.

A major media campaign will precede the full operation of the regime so as to inform the general public of the new system, their obligations under it and the hierarchical range of penalties. The campaign will stress the need for people to pay their fines but will also make clear the opportunities to seek time-to-pay arrangements or, in the case of infringement notice penalties, to have the matter dealt with by a court instead. It is proposed that a media campaign will also be developed specifically for Aboriginal Territorians.

It is the view of the government that this new fine enforcement regime is a better, more efficient and fairer system than the various enforcement processes currently in place in the Territory. It is a best-practice model that has been developed specifically with Territory conditions in mind.

I commend the bills to honourable members.

 

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