Millions owed in COVID fines - but some struggle to pay them

Covid-19 data shows millions of dollars in fines for breaches of public health orders are overdue in both New South Wales and Victoria. The latest figures for New South Wales from late June up until September shows only $1.6 million dollars of fines has been paid out of a total value of $24 million. But some vulnerable Australians are struggling to cover the penalty costs with legal groups calling for an improved fines system and more data to be made available.

Source: SBS

Highlights

• Data from Fines Victoria recorded from the end of March until mid June this year indicates even more fees are owed, a grand total of almost $55 million
• Victorian crime data from April 2020 to March 2021 shows 5% of alleged COVID-19 offenders recorded were Indigenous.
• Tiffany Overall who is an Advocacy and Human Rights Officer of Youth Law, asked the oversight panel for Fines Victoria to review the process in the hopes of developing a fairer system

Lawyers supporting people who are fined for COVID-19 breaches are reporting many cannot pay due to financial hardship or other reasons. 

And New South Wales data shows of the four million dollars' worth of coronavirus fines, perpetrators have only paid about  half of them for offences over a 12 month period from March 2020 to March of this year.

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