Mass Cancellation Of COVID Fines After NSW Supreme Court Hearing

Will other states follow suit?


Article heading image for Mass Cancellation Of COVID Fines After NSW Supreme Court Hearing

Getty Images

The NSW government has thrown out more than 33,000 COVID fines after a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday.

The court has ruled the fines were too vague and the notices did not provide a sufficiently detailed description of the offence committed and were therefore invalid.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing - keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:

Barrister Katherine Richardson SC said the plaintiffs who had taken the "extraordinary step" of going to the Supreme Court, did so after unsuccessfully attempting to have the fines reviewed.

"It's only at the eleventh hour the Crown has finally accepted these were invalid," she said.

Following the ruling, Revenue NSW issued a statement confirming it would withdraw 33,121 fines.

"Where fines are withdrawn, all sanctions, including drivers licence restrictions or garnishee order activity will be stopped," the statement read.

Post

Meantime, the heat is now on Victoria to follow suit and scrap all COVID fines issued during the pandemic.

Solicitor Samantha Lee said the pressure is now on Victoria to follow the lead of NSW.

"Potentially other states could follow suit," she told Nine.

"It's going to be again, a long road to get it to court, but potentially if those fines in other states are equally as vague, then a court action could be taken".

- Solicitor Samantha Lee

NSW issued 62,128 COVID-related infringements throughout the pandemic, while Victoria issued 50,031 for breaching Covid restrictions throughout the same period.

Post

From The Monthly and LiSTNR comes The Politics Podcast, a new daily podcast that cuts through the noise and delivers you the in-depth analysis of the moments that defined the day in politics. Hear it on the LiSTNR app. 

Triple M Newsroom

29 November 2022

Article by:

Triple M Newsroom




Listen Live!

Up Next