Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council | Adjournment
28 July 2026
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan Region):
My adjournment matter is for the Attorney-General, and it relates to imprisonment warrants issued for unpaid fines. There are currently some 3000 warrants issued annually for unpaid fines for low-level offences such as unpaid tolls. In fact 83 per cent of these fines are for unpaid tolls to Transurban and ConnectEast. A relatively small fine can quickly accumulate late fees and administrative charges before being transferred to Fines Victoria, who then really apply the screws. Escalating enforcement measures can include licence or registration suspension, final notices or referral to the sheriff and eventually to the Magistrates Court, where imprisonment is definitely an option. Setting aside the bizarre situation of the Victorian government being Transurban’s debt collector, no-one should be jailed for not paying a fine. It is another example of the criminalisation of poverty and disadvantage in this state. People with the means to pay fines will do so. The people at risk of imprisonment are those who cannot.
The Fines Reform Act 2014 was designed to prevent people from facing imprisonment for unpaid fines, but it is failing in practice. The act requires the court to consider, amongst other things, whether imprisonment would be excessive, disproportionate or unduly harsh. I do not need to explain why prison is an excessive, disproportionate and unduly harsh form of punishment for someone who simply cannot pay their CityLink toll nor spend time detailing the lasting harms associated with that imprisonment. Even a short stint can cost someone their job, their home or their kids. These people have not committed serious or dangerous crimes; they just do not have the ability to pay that fine. Section 165 prohibits imprisonment where a person lacks the capacity to pay or has another reasonable excuse and no other order was deemed appropriate, yet magistrates are still issuing orders for imprisonment, including for defaulting on payment plans that would take decades to clear.
I have sought demographic information about those subjects via a question on notice, and we are seeking those warrants, but I was told that releasing that information could affect privacy. This is outrageous but entirely consistent with this government’s lack of transparency. There are many ways to provide de-identified data. The action I seek therefore is for the Attorney-General to release the requested data in a de-identified format and to remove imprisonment as an option for fines debt from the Fines Reform Act.
[Awaiting response]
