The Law Handbook 2024

116 SECTION 3: Fines, infringements and criminal law Part 11 of the FR Act applies if one or more enforcement warrants have been issued against the registered owner of a vehicle. This means that action taken to immobilise, detain or remove your vehicle can continue until all your outstanding warrants have been dealt with. The FR Act specifically allows a vehicle to be sold, even when it is the owner’s primary mode of transport and is of any value. This specifically excludes the operation of section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), which would otherwise protect people from having their vehicle seized and sold. Removal of number plates Under Part 12 of the FR Act, if an enforcement warrant has been issued, the sheriff or a police officer has the power to remove the number plates from your vehicle and order the suspension of your registration. This has the effect of increasing the chance that you will be intercepted by police while driving and enable them to execute the enforcement warrant by arresting and bailing you to attend a section 165 hearing (see ‘Enforcement warrant hearings (“section 165 hearings”)’, below). If number plates are removed, a notice must be placed on the windscreen advising of the removal. Number plates must be returned if: • payment is made in full; or • a payment arrangement is made and typically a lump sum deposit is paid; or • an attachment of earnings or debts direction has been made; or • an application for an enforcement review is granted; or • sufficient property is seized to cover your fines; or • you are arrested. Arrest and community work permits You may be arrested under an enforcement warrant if you do not have enough personal property to cover the amount owed and there are no other means of dealing with the fine. At this stage, you can either be bailed to appear in court under section 165 of the FR Act, or you may be eligible for a community work permit ( CWP ). If you are bailed to appear in court, it is very important to seek legal advice before the court hearing (see Chapter 2.4: Legal services that can help). Also see ‘Enforcement warrant hearings (“section 165 hearings”)’, below. If you are eligible for a CWP and agree to the terms, you can complete unpaid community work under supervision instead of going to court. You may not be eligible for a CWP if: • your outstanding fines exceed 100 penalty units; or • the sheriff thinks you do not have the capacity to perform unpaid community work (e.g. you have a physical, intellectual or mental disability that prevents you from doing the work required); or • you have no fixed address; or • you are likely to contravene the conditions of a CWP. If you breach the CWP conditions without a reasonable excuse, you are guilty of an offence, which may lead to a court-imposed fine. If you fail to comply with a CWP, you may have to go to court and the magistrate may decide to cancel the CWP and give you a different sentence (see ‘Enforcement warrant hearings (“section 165 hearings”)’, below). Under a CWP, the number of hours you are required to work is calculated at the rate of 0.2 of a penalty unit per hour until the penalty is paid (unless the court sets a different number of hours). There is a minimum of eight hours to be worked and a maximum of 500 hours. The FR Act sets out deadlines for completion of hours under a CWP (e.g. you have six months to complete 125 hours). Therefore, you must have enough free time to commit to community work. You cannot be made to complete more than 20 hours of community work per week. However, you can request to work up to 40 hours per week if you can manage it and you want to work-off the debt more quickly. COVID-19 related fines In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Government declared a State of Emergency throughout Victoria under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic), which was elevated to a State of Disaster under the Emergency Management Act 1986 (Vic). This gave the Chief Health Officer of Victoria powers to make directions to reduce the