The Law Handbook 2024

34 Section 1: Understanding our laws and courts Fines in offence penalty sections are usually defined in terms of penalty units ( pu ) (see ‘A note about penalty units’ at the start of this book). The maximum fine the Magistrates’ Court can impose on a defendant is 500 pu (s 112A). Time to pay A magistrate may order a defendant to pay their fines over a fixed term (e.g. three months) (s 59) or by instalments (e.g. $40 per month) (s 56). For further details, contact the registrar’s office at the court where the fine was imposed. Fine enforcement and fine default Unpaid fines can be dealt with in a number of ways: • in certain circumstances, a defendant can apply to the court for the fine to be paid back through unpaid community work, instead of paying the fine (ss 64, 69D); • a warrant can be issued for the arrest of a fine defaulter (s 69); • a court can reduce or discharge a fine if it is satis- fied there is a material change in circumstances or the defendant’s circumstances were wrongly stated when the fine was imposed (s 69G); • a court may make an imprisonment order (s 69N). A defendant with unpaid fines should contact their local Magistrates’ Court for information about alter­ natives to payment. If a fine remains unpaid for more than 28 days – unless an order has been made for the unpaid fine to be converted to community work – a warrant may be issued (s 69). However, the defendant must be given seven days before the warrant is executed. During this time, they can apply for an instalment order, or for time to pay, or consent to the court’s ordering them to perform unpaid community work (s 69C). Defendants arrested on warrant for defaulting on paying a fine may receive an unpaid community work order, or an instalment order, or have their property seized by warrant, or get an adjournment for up to six months, or be imprisoned (s 69H). Adjourned undertakings with or without conviction A common penalty imposed for minor offences and for first offenders is the adjourned undertaking with or without conviction with certain conditions attached (e.g. good behaviour for the adjourned period or making a contribution to the court fund). Section 70(1) of the Sentencing Act sets out the circumstances in which these penalties should be considered. These include exceptional circumstances; or when the offence is so trivial it is inappropriate to record a conviction or impose punishment, or to aid the rehabilitation of the defendant. The Sentencing Act includes guidelines to allow a defendant to demonstrate remorse in a manner agreed to by the court (s 70(1)(ba)). Adjourned undertakings with conviction After the defendant is convicted of an offence, the magistrate may order the case to be adjourned for up to five years, with the defendant to be released after giving an undertaking to attend court if called on to do so, and to be of good behaviour for the period of the adjournment, and to observe any special conditions (e.g. payments to charitable organisations) (s 72). A defendant may also be convicted and discharged for any offence (s 73). Adjourned undertakings without conviction Themagistratemay, after finding a defendant guilty of an offence, adjourn, without conviction, the hearing for up to five years and release the defendant on their giving an undertaking to be of good behaviour and to undergo any special conditions ordered by the court (e.g. a contribution to the court fund, or attending a treatment program) (s 75). A conditional adjournment (s 75) and a fine without conviction (see ‘Fines’, above) are now commonly sought orders in the Magistrates’ Court, as both penalties avoid conviction. In deciding whether or not to record a conviction, the magistrate must take into account the nature of the offence, the defendant’s character and past history, and the impact a conviction would have on the defendant (s 8). The magistrate may also dismiss any charge without conviction (s 76). Contraventions of sentencing orders The Sentencing Act has standard provisions for defendants who contravene a CCO and adjournment with undertakings (the original sentence).