WA Can I Get Parking Fines and Speeding Fines Reduced?

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now

Faduma

Member
20 April 2018
2
0
1
Hi newcomer looking for sound opinions,

I had a few registered parking fines and speeding fines that I set up a time to pay for. I then left for a few months on holiday with an understanding that a family member would continue the payments but this fell through.

Prior to leaving, I updated my address with WA fines. However since my return, I’ve now been informed that my prior address was still recorded and that sheriff warrants have been sent out. My previous fines we’re just around 1000$ but they’ve now jumped to $5600.

I explained that I had been receiving no mail at my updated address and that the previous homeowners were elderly and only recently informed me of the sheriffs visit which led to me contacting them. I’m a student with only a casual job and would love to appeal the warrants or at least decrease them. Does anyone know if this is possible or likely?
 

Sally-Anne Fagin

Well-Known Member
18 September 2017
35
0
121
First I'm not sure what state you are in, but in NSW you can contact the State Debt Recovery Office and make an installment payment plan.

There is another option in NSW, and that is you can apply to do a Work and Development Order (WDO), look up the State Debt Recovery website for details about it.

A WDO means you can do voluntary work with a participating organisation, such as St. Vincent de Paul op shop's, and each hour of voluntary work is so much off your fine.

So you can do an hour or two of volunteer work a week, and that means you don't have to pay any money to the State Debt Recovery Office, which is good for you being a student and on a low income.

You can also apply to the State Debt Recovery Office to write off your fines; but they do this very rarely as far as I know.

They wrote off $21 000 in fines for me, but I am a good writer, and wrote a good letter.
 

Adam1user

Well-Known Member
5 January 2018
577
33
2,219
Hi,
In addition to Sally-Anne comments, you can contact debt recovery dept SDRO and explain that you were overseas and the mistake that had happened and it was not your intention to default and that you are not disputing the fines, you need to obtain your travel (or departure and return) dates from immigration, this is a free report and submit it to SDRO and they should waive all the extra amounts and most properly put on you a payment plan. SDRO wants their money, they are not the monster, they will help you if you made an honest mistake.

Thanks Sally-Anne for your comment on WDO, it helps, I did not know it existed.