PENALTIES AND SENTENCES AND OTHER ACTS AMENDMENT BILL 2008 Explanatory Notes
PENALTIES AND SENTENCES AND OTHER ACTS AMENDMENT BILL 2008
Penalties and Sentences and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2008
Penalties and Sentences and Other Acts
Amendment Bill 2008
Explanatory Notes
Objectives of the Bill
The objective of the Bill is to amend the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
to increase the penalty unit amount from $75 to $100 and to provide for
consequential amendments to give effect to scale backs to certain fines.
Reasons for the Bill
The penalty unit for infringement notice penalties has not increased since
1999 (when the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 was enacted) and for
other offences it has not increased since 1995. The penalty unit has not kept
up with the Consumer Price Index over time, effectively reducing the level
of punishment and deterrence of fines for various offences. Queensland has
a low penalty unit compared to other states.
The Commonwealth, NSW, Victoria and Northern Territory apply a
penalty unit of $110, Tasmania applies the highest unit of $120, while
Western Australia ranges from $50 for road offences to $110 for more
serious offences, and the Australian Capital Territory prescribes $100.
South Australia does not have penalty units.
Achievement of the Objectives
The Bill achieves the objectives by making the amendments to the Penalties
and Sentences Act 1992 to increase the penalty unit amount from $75 to
$100 for all offences other than offences under local laws. The Bill
provides that the penalty unit amount for local laws will be prescribed
under the Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2005 to a value of not more
than $100.
The Bill also includes consequential scale backs in relation to liquor
offences that apply to discrete indigenous communities so they reflect the
current dollar maximum fine amount (these penalties were recently
reviewed by Government as part of the Alcohol Reform in May 2008), and
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Penalties and Sentences and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2008
some offences that are part of the national frameworks for gene technology,
food safety, heavy vehicles and rail.
Alternative Ways of Achieving Objectives
The policy objectives can only be achieved by legislative enactment.
Estimated Cost for Government Implementation
Implementation of the Bill will be met from existing resources.
Consistency with Fundamental Legislative Principles
Clause 4 amends section 5(1)(b) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 to
provide that for a local law the amount of the penalty unit is to be
prescribed under a regulation. As this provision authorises the amendment
of an Act by subordinate legislation, it arguably breaches the fundamental
legislative principle that a Bill is to have sufficient regard to the institution
of Parliament.
The breach is considered justified on the basis that the provision has been
included to allow each local government time to consider whether the value
of the penalty unit should be increased for their local laws to $100, and if
so, whether there should be any consequential scale backs to penalties for
certain offences. Upon commencement of the Bill, a regulation will be
made prescribing the value of the penalty unit for local laws as $75,
pending the determination by each local government about whether to
increase the penalty unit value to $100 for their local laws. If the value of
the penalty unit is to increase to $100 for some, or all, of the local
governments, a further regulation will be made increasing the value of the
penalty unit for the relevant local governments.
In addition, the breach is considered justified as the new section 5(1)(b)
will provide for an upper limit of $100 for the penalty unit value for a local
law. This is consistent with the standard penalty unit of $100 for all other
offences.
Consultation
Government consultation on the amendments was undertaken.
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Notes on Provisions
Clause 1 states that the short title of the Act is the Penalties and Sentences
and Other Acts Amendment Act 2008.
Clause 2 provides that section 3 and part 1 of the schedule commence on 1
January 2009, and part 2 of the schedule commences on a day to be fixed
by proclamation.
Clause 3 omits section 5(1) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 and
provides that the value of a penalty unit is--
(a) for the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 or an infringement notice
under that Act, other than an infringement notice for an offence against a
local law--$100; or
(b) for a local law, or an infringement notice under the State Penalties
Enforcement Act 1999 for an offence against a local law--the amount, not
more than $100, prescribed under a regulation; or
(c) in any other case, for this or another Act--$100.
Clause 4 also provides that the schedule amends the Acts mentioned in it.
Schedule Amendments relating to penalty
unit increase
Part 1 of the schedule amends the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Communities (Justice, Land and Other Matters) Act 1984 and the Liquor Act
1992 to reduce the number of penalty units for certain liquor offences that
apply to discrete indigenous communities so they reflect the current dollar
maximum fine amount as these penalties were recently reviewed by
Government as part of the Alcohol Reform in May 2008.
Part 1 of the schedule also amends the Food Act 2006, the Gene Technology
Act 2001, and the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 to
reduce the number of penalty units for certain offences to maintain the
existing dollar amount upon commencement of the increase of the penalty
unit to $100. This will ensure consistency with national schemes.
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Penalties and Sentences and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2008
Part 1 of the schedule also amends the Hire-purchase Act 1959 to convert the
maximum penalties, which are expressed in dollar amounts, into a penalty
unit amount.
Part 2 of the schedule amends the Transport Operation (Road Use
Management) Act 1995, Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 and the Transport
Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 to reduce the number of penalty
units for certain offences to maintain the existing dollar amount upon
commencement of the increase of the penalty unit to $100. This will ensure
consistency with the national framework for heavy vehicles and rail.
© State of Queensland 2008
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