source : the age
Toll fees are the driving force behind Victoria’s largest unpaid fines, and one offender owes an eye-watering $406,931, prompting lawyers to call for an overhaul of the state’s penalty system.
Fines Victoria data, released to The Age under freedom-of-information laws, shows that the 20 people with the largest unpaid fines in the state owe almost $6 million collectively.
One person has more than $400,000 in unpaid toll fines.Credit: Eddie Jim
Each has accumulated more than $100,000 in toll fees, which account for nearly 90 per cent of the total unpaid fines owed by the group of 20.
Speeding, ignoring red lights and driving an unregistered vehicle are also common offences for those with the highest debts.
Lawyers are calling on the government to introduce an amnesty on penalty and enforcement fees attached to toll fines, to prevent people from spiralling into debt they may never be able to repay.
They say the state’s fines system is causing vulnerable Victorians undue stress and trauma, with people being arrested, hauled before the courts and at risk of prison time.
Dylan Goldsworthy, a senior lawyer at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, said most clients he had helped with large fine debts did not set out to flout road rules or ignore fines.
They often faced problems such as poor mental health, homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, cost-of-living pressures and family violence, he said.
“That one toll fine that goes unpaid quickly balloons to include invoices with late fees, then it ultimately goes to Victoria Police, who issue a fine,” Goldsworthy said. “So that $10 can quickly become hundreds of dollars.”
Goldsworthy said people who needed to regularly use toll roads could then accumulate many of those fines and quickly end up with debts in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Peninsula Community Legal Centre chief executive Jackie Galloway said the issue had expanded beyond traditionally vulnerable people to those who could no longer afford tolls due to the cost-of-living and housing affordability crises.
“We have seen clients with debts as large as $200,000 to $300,000 due to the penalty and enforcement fees imposed on tolls that are unpaid, with the overall debt compounding and increasing in seriousness and size,” she said.
“Most people have no hope of ever paying this kind of fine debt. There is an urgent need for the government to help these people pay off their fines in other ways, rather than crippling them with life-long debt and the threat of criminal sanctions”.
Galloway said the government should issue an amnesty for penalty and enforcement fees tied to toll fines, and emphasised the urgent need for a more equitable toll system – one that balanced deterrence with realistic payment expectations.
Among the clients the Peninsula Community Legal Centre had helped was a single mother in her 30s who had accumulated $90,000 in mainly toll fines. As her financial situation worsened, debt collectors rejected her offers to pay the money in instalments. The stress had a severe impact on her mental health and ability to work.
The legal centre obtained medical documentation revealing she was struggling with post-natal depression and other health issues. This led to the full cancellation of her fines.
Goldsworthy said toll fine infringements should be removed from the criminal justice system.
“Despite being initially issued by private companies, toll fines are dealt with in the criminal justice system if they remain unpaid,” he said. “The sheriff’s office can take enforcement action against you and also issue arrest warrants. You can be arrested and bailed to appear in criminal court.
“So these tolls debts which are in essence civil debts by a private company become criminal offences and enforced by a state government.”
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson said anyone struggling to pay a fine should reach out to the issuing agency as soon as possible. The spokesperson said the government had introduced changes to tolling legislation in 2020, ensuring that only one toll fine could be issued per week of toll road usage.
The work and development permit scheme supported thousands of Victorians who could not pay fines, with more than 4400 applications worth more than $7 million approved last year, the spokesperson said.
Transurban, operator of the CityLink tollway, said it did not profit from the fines issued by state authorities and rarely recovered costs once a matter had been referred for infringement.
“We would prefer it if none of our customers ever receive a fine, and we encourage them to reach out to us for help in paying for their tolls before it escalates to that point,” a spokesperson said.
An EastLink spokesperson said it had asked that Victoria Police withdraw more than 6000 fines due to hardship in the last year.
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