The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 3.1: Fines and infringements 121 enforcement agency. If the enforcement agency does nothing, the matter is withdrawn. However, if the enforcement agency decides to prosecute the matter, it must issue a charge and summons and then the matter will be listed in open court before a magistrate. Where a case is referred to open court in these circumstances, you (the defendant) or your lawyer will receive a notice of hearing . This notice sets out a ‘mention date’: • if you plead guilty, the matter will be heard and determined on the mention date; • if you plead not guilty, the matter will generally be held as a mention hearing and will be adjourned and set down for a contested hearing on a later date. Matters are generally heard in the court nearest to where the offence allegedly occurred. If you have multiple matters, they may be referred to different courts. If you wish to have all the matters dealt with at once, in the same court, try to persuade the agencies involved to agree to attend a single hearing. You can also ask the Magistrates’ Court to consolidate and transfer the cases to be listed at the same court, for a single hearing. You may need to obtain the consent of the informants to adjourn and transfer the matters. The contact details of the informant will be contained in the brief served in advance of the hearing. To transfer cases to a different court so a number of cases can be heard together, complete a ‘Form 15 – Case Abridgement Application’, which can be found on the Magistrates’ Court website. If you plead guilty, or are found to be guilty, you will have a finding of guilt on your criminal record. However, the conviction will be immediately ‘spent’ as it originated as an infringement. Note that irrespective of the sentence, if the offence attracts demerit points, these will still be applied if you plead or are found guilty. For more information on court procedures, see ‘Appearing in the Magistrates’ Court’, below. 5 You apply for an enforcement review on the grounds of special circumstances Where an application for an enforcement review is made on the basis of special circumstances and the application is accepted by Fines Victoria, enforcement of the fine is cancelled, and it is referred back to the enforcement agency. If the enforcement agency decides to prosecute the matter, they must withdraw the infringement notice and issue a charge and summons that sets out details of both the relevant offence and the future court hearing (i.e. the time, date and location of the hearing). This process results in individual matters being heard at the Magistrates’ Court closest to where the offence was committed or the court closest to your residential address. If a special circumstances matter is listed at a Magistrates’ Court, see ‘Appearing in the Magistrates’ Court’, below. If you wish to have all the matters dealt with at once in the same court, you can contact the agencies involved to ask them to agree to attend a single hearing. You can also ask the Magistrates’ Court to list the cases at the same court, for a single hearing. For more information on court procedures, see ‘Appearing in the Magistrates’ Court’, below. Because a special circumstances application requires you to accept that you have committed an offence, it is generally advisable to plead guilty and rely on your special circumstances in your guilty plea. If you are in this situation, you should seek legal advice (see Chapter 2.4: Legal services that can help). Where you plead or are found guilty, sentences in open court are variable and depend on the personal circumstances and offence circumstances you present to the court. It is important to tell the court if you have special circumstances and to present evidence of these (e.g. the support letter that accompanied your enforcement review application). It is also important to insist on presenting your special circumstances, any rehabilitative steps you have taken, and that your condition or circumstances (e.g. mental or intellectual disability or illness, drug or alcohol addiction, homelessness or family violence) ‘contributed to’ you having a significantly reduced capacity to understand and control the conduct constituting the offence. Or you meet the ‘long-term circumstances’ test, which means you can show that you are experiencing circumstances that are long-term and disabling, that are more than just financial hardship, and due to these circumstances it is not possible for you to either pay your fines or deal with them in other ways (see also ‘Option 3: Ask the enforcement agency to review its decision’, above, for changes in relation to ‘special circumstances’).