The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 3.1: Fines and infringements 129 asks you to fill in your details and return the sheet to the Prison Program. If you have been released from prison because: • the charges against you were withdrawn; or • you were only sentenced to time served (i.e. time served on remand); or • youwere not sentenced to a termof imprisonment; or • you were found not guilty, then you have six months from the date you were released from custody to apply to the Time Served Scheme. You can apply online (https://online.fines. vic.gov.au/Support/prison-program) . Court fines issued by the Supreme Court cannot be dealt with through the Time Served Scheme. The Time Served Scheme and the Director of Fines Victoria Once you have applied to the Time Served Scheme, the Director of Fines Victoria must determine whether they can administratively waive your fines or whether they must apply to a court to have your fines converted into prison time. When must the Director of Fines Victoria apply to court? The Director of Fines Victoria must apply to the relevant court seeking an order that fines be waived if the person: • is only in custody because of a fine-related sentence; or • has a fine debt that is larger than their time in prison (including time spent on remand) (this is based on a calculation of one penalty unit per day in prison); this is referred to as having an ‘excess’. When calculating a fine debt to determine if there is an excess, the fine debt does not include any additional fees that have been added (e.g. administrative fees added by Fines Victoria). The Director of Fines Victoria must apply to the relevant court (e.g. they must apply to the Magistrates’ Court if the fines were imposed by the Magistrates’ Court, and to the County Court if the fines were imposed by the County Court). When can the Director of Fines Victoria waive fines? If the Director of Fines Victoria is not required to apply to a court (see above), then they must administratively waive the fines. What can a court order? A court can make a ‘time served order’ that waives a person’s fines debt at a rate equivalent to how much time they have spent in custody for a non-fine related sentence. The time served order can include time spent on remand and time spent in prison after the person was sentenced. A time served order must be served concurrently with any non-fine related sentence. Any remaining fine debt will be dealt with by the court under a section 171C order. A court can make a range of orders in relation to an excess or where the person is only serving a fine- related sentence; these orders include: • fully or partially discharging an infringement or court fine; • a time to pay order; • an order for the person to pay in instalments; • an unpaid community work order; • an order adjourning the hearing or further hearing for up to six months; • an order for imprisonment. The FR Act includes protections that prevent a court frommaking an order for further imprisonment where: • the person has a mental or intellectual impairment, disorder, disease or illness; • the person has special circumstances; • having regard to the person’s situation, imprisonment would be excessive, dis­ proportionate or unduly harsh. The FR Act also prevents a court from making an order for further imprisonment if the court is satisfied that: • the person did not have capacity to pay the fine; or • the person had another reasonable excuse for not paying the fine. A court also cannot make an order for imprisonment unless it is satisfied that no other order or relevant