A court ruling could pave the way for tens of thousands of Covid fines to be scrapped.
The pronunciation of the N.S.W High Council on January 31 allowed Angelika Kosciolek to escape a $3,000 fine imposed on her for leaving the Greater Sydney region without a permit in 2021.
Redfern Legal Center Senior Solicitor Samantha Lee, who is challenging the fine on behalf of Ms Kosciolek, said the victory could invalidate 29,000 other Covid fines in the state issued during the pandemic, even if they have been paid in whole or in part.
Reversing $3,000 Covid fine could invalidate thousands of other breach notices (generic image shown)
Passing sentence, Justice Desmond Fagan of the NSW Supreme Court said the fine can only remain valid if it clearly states which government act it applies to and which provision the offense relates to.
The offense imposed on Ms Kosciolek did not meet this ‘absolute minimum standard’ and Ms Lee believes this would also apply if other Covid fines were issued.
In 2022, NSW was forced to cancel and refund 33,121 fines after the NSW Supreme Court previously ruled the penalties were worded too vaguely without being linked to a specific offence.
“We now have two High Court judges confirming that for a sentence to be valid, it must have the law or specify the offence,” Ms Lee told me. news.com.au.
“Therefore, if anyone else with Covid fines looks at their actual fine and it doesn’t state the law, we believe (that) all of those fines are now invalid.”
Despite issuing the previous massive refunds, NSW Fines Administration Commissioner Scott Johnston told a state parliament budget estimate on Thursday that Revenue NSW will not automatically cancel and refund the remainder of the Covid fines imposed.
He said each case would be assessed on a ‘case by case’ basis.
Ms Lee called on Mr Johnston to repay all fines and said her center was prepared to pursue the case.
“The commissioner is refusing to respect a Supreme Court ruling and do the right thing and give people their money back and cancel these fines that don’t meet the legal requirements,” she said.
NSW has already had to cancel or refund more than 33,000 Covid fines as a result of a previous court ruling (general image shown)
‘We are giving the commissioner time to reflect and make the right decision to withdraw these fines. If not, watch this space.”
She said Redfern Legal Center would offer free legal advice to anyone wanting to have their fine quashed or refunded.
There was also the option to lodge an assessment with Revenue NSW claiming the fine does not meet the bare minimum legal test and should be withdrawn.