Aboriginal Legal Service NSW urges fines for public health rule breaches be withdrawn or converted to cautions
Roughly 45,000 fines issued in 2021-22 are now overdue, according to NSW government data, and the vast majority are being enforced. That’s despite evidence that some fines have either been issued erroneously, are not being tested properly in internal review processes, or are being enforced unfairly.Managing solicitor for the ALS’s Fines Clinic, Lauren Stefanou, said the enforcement of fines was causing the suspension of drivers licenses for Indigenous Australians in the state.
Stefanou said many of her clients were electing to fight their fines in court in desperation to avoid paying fines of $1,000 or more. Data suggests this has added an additional 2,782 cases to the court lists, a significant burden on the justice system. The Redfern Legal Centre is representing three plaintiffs in a NSW supreme court case challenging Covid fines, which could have much broader ramifications for the tens of thousands of fines issued during the pandemic.
Late last year, an alliance of legal services urged the state government to pause its enforcement of Covid fines, warning many had been issued incorrectly. They told NSW finance minister, Damien Tudehope, that the fines were disproportionately hurting Indigenous Australians, homeless groups and people living with a disability.
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