The Law Handbook 2024

114 SECTION 3: Fines, infringements and criminal law • a land charge has been recorded; • property has been seized under a vehicle seizure and sale notice; or • an infringement has been registered with the Children’s Court. The work-off rates for WDPs are: • 6.6 penalty units per month for drug and alcohol counselling and medical treatment (for the 2023– 2024 financial year, this is $1269.25); and • 0.3 penalty units per hour for all other activities (for the 2023–2024 financial year, this is $57.69). Participants are only required to work off the original amount of each fine on the WDP, i.e the fees that have been added to fines included on a WDP will be waived once a participant has worked off the original value of each individual fine in full. If a participant ceases activities prior to the original fine amount being worked off, the fees will not be removed. Once a WDP is in place, any enforcement of the fines included in the WDP is suspended. If you complete the WDP, the proportion of the fines worked off under the WDP will be considered dealt with. If you cannot complete the WDP, consider the other options listed above for dealing with the remainder of your unpaid fines or seek a waiver of your remaining fines under section 10F of the FR Act on the basis that you have substantially attempted to comply with the WDP and you have achieved the intended objectives of the WDP. If you are interested in a WDP, seek legal advice (see Chapter 2.4: Legal services that can help) or advice from a financial counsellor (see Chapter 5.4: Financial counselling services) to find out whether you are eligible and if there are suitable accredited sponsors who can assist you. Unfortunately, at the time of writing (1 September 2023), there is no centralised, publicly available list of accredited agencies that offer WDPs. There is also a limited number of sponsor agencies; however, it is expected that the number of sponsors available will increase over time. For the most up-to-date list of WDP sponsors, contact Fines Victoria on 1300 323 483. What happens if I take no action? If you take no action in relation to outstanding fines, they will eventually be enforced against you. After a notice of final demand is issued by Fines Victoria, you are vulnerable to a range of sanctions (see pts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 FR Act). Suspension of driver licence and vehicle registration Under Part 8 of the FR Act, the sheriff may direct VicRoads to suspend a driver licence or suspend the registration of a person’s vehicle, whether or not the person’s infringement was a vehicle offence. This action can only be taken if you have been issued with a notice of final demand and you do not pay the outstanding fine or have taken no other action. The sheriff may also direct VicRoads to not renew a driver licence or vehicle registration, or to not transfer a registration. Where multiple enforcement warrants have been issued against you, Fines Victoria can make one direction about all of them. Fines Victoria must direct VicRoads to end your driver licence suspension if: • you pay your fines in full; or • you apply for and are approved for a payment arrangement; or • you apply for an enforcement review and it is granted; or • an attachment of earning debt direction is made; or • sufficient property is seized to cover your fines; or • you are arrested. Attachment of earnings or debts direction Under Part 7 of the FR Act, where the amount of your fines exceeds $1000, Fines Victoria has the power to make a direction that your employer, or someone who owes you money, pay that money to Fines Victoria. An attachment of earnings direction is a direction to your employer to pay a proportion of your wages or benefits to Fines Victoria to satisfy your outstanding fines. An attachment of debts direction is a direction that requires a third person who owes you money to pay Fines Victoria, instead of paying you, to pay off your outstanding fines. Under the FR Act and FR Regulations, there is a protected level of income; an attachment of earnings or a debts direction cannot be applied to this