Up to 50,000 Victorian Covid fines remain unpaid after doling out $100million in pandemic penalties
Up to 50,000 Covid fines remain unpaid in state that has handed out $100 million in pandemic-era fines
- 50,150 outstanding Covid fines in Victoria
- These fines total more than $100 million in revenue
Tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 fines remain unpaid as Victorians are warned not to ignore their fines.
In Victorian state budget estimates on Friday, Attorney General Jaclyn Symes said 50,150 fines totaling more than $100 million have been imposed for violating health regulations during the pandemic.
More than 5,500 of these have been paid in whole or in part and 14,319 are unpaid after the due date, leading to injunctions being issued.
Tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 fines remain unpaid in pandemic-era fines in Victoria. Pictured are residents in Melbourne’s CBD during the pandemic
About 3,716 people chose to take their 4,052 fines to court and 11,800 were canceled by enforcement agencies.
Another 152 fines were registered with the Children’s Court for enforcement.
To date, the Victorian government has recovered $9.36 million of fully paid COVID-19 fines and a further $5.76 million is subject to pending payment plans.
Despite more than 20 percent of the fines being dropped, Symes warned people not to ignore them, as they can pile up over time.
“Fines don’t go away unless you take action,” she told the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.
“There are several ways you can contact the department to handle your fines, whether it’s through payment arrangements or people have reasons to have them withdrawn.”
Fines totaling more than $100 million were imposed for violating health regulations during the pandemic