The Law Handbook 2024

106 SECTION 3: Fines, infringements and criminal law – understand that conduct is an offence, or – control conduct that constitutes an offence; • homelessness or family violence that contributes to the person having a significantly reduced capacity to control conduct that constitutes an offence. This requires a causal link between the person’s special circumstances and the offence; this is called the ‘nexus’. It does not, however, require that the special circumstance is the only contributing factor to the offence, just that it has a significant contribution. Special circumstances: Homelessness ‘Homelessness’ is defined in regulation 7 of the Infringements (General) Regulations 2006 (Vic). A person is homeless if they are: • sleeping rough; • couch surfing; • living in crisis or transitional housing; • living in accommodation provided under the Supported Accommodation Assistance Act 1994 (Cth); • unable to adequately access safe, secure housing. If you are applying to have your fines cancelled because you were homeless at the time you were fined, you need to show that your homelessness contributed to you having a significantly reduced capacity to control the behaviour that led to the issue of the fine. Special circumstances: Family violence ‘Family violence’ is defined in section 5 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic). Family violence is behaviour by a person towards a family member that is physically or sexually abusive, emotionally or psychologically abusive, or economically abusive, or is threatening or coercive, or is in any other way controlling or dominating and causes the family member to fear for their own safety or wellbeing or that of another family member. Family violence is also behaviour that causes a child to hear or witness, or otherwise be exposed to the effects of, the behaviour outlined above. If you are applying to have your fines cancelled because you were experiencing family violence at the time you were fined, you need to show that the family violence you experienced contributed to you having a significantly reduced capacity to control the behaviour that led to the issuing of the fine. Where there are grounds to apply for review due to family violence (i.e. special circumstances), you are also likely to be eligible to apply under the Family Violence Scheme (see ‘Option 8: Apply to the Family Violence Scheme’, below). Special circumstances: Long-term circumstances You can also apply for special circumstances on the basis that you are experiencing circumstances that are: • long-term in nature (that is, circumstances that are persistent, continuing indefinitely, or for the foreseeable future, or continuing for an extended period of time such as several years); • make it impracticable for you to pay the infringement penalty and any fees or utilise any of the other mechanisms to deal with your fines, such as a work and development permit (see ‘Option 9: Apply for a work and development permit’, below); and • do not relate solely or predominantly to your financial circumstances. The condition does not have to have been present at the time of the offending, and it does not have to be linked to the offending. This sub-ground of ‘special circumstances’ is intended to apply only to a small group of fine recipients who have long-term and extremely serious circumstances that were not necessarily present when the offence occurred and mean that they cannot address their fines in another way. Examples of where it is impracticable to deal with the fine include where the person’s circumstances are such that they: • cannot undertake work and development permit activities because they are unable to participate in relevant activities; • do not have capacity to instruct a lawyer, financial counsellor or advocate to act on their behalf; • cannot keep track of or manage their fines because of the long-term, severe condition or circumstance. While financial circumstances can be considered, the long-term condition or circumstance must be the main cause of the incapacity to use any other option to deal with the fine, including to organise payment. Examples include but are not limited to: • a person undergoing long-term involuntary mental health care (e.g. they are subject to a community treatment order) that makes them unable to attend courses, treatment or counselling, or to pay the fine;