Hello,
I travelled to Darwin in NT in October 2002 on a working holiday visa. I had thought that I had behaved impeccably, however, I met up with a friend recently and he told me that one night I had committed a minor public order offence (urinating in the street) when very drunk and that the police had caught me and fined me on the spot.
I have no recollection of this, I never had the docket and was completely unaware. My friend is adamant that it happened and that the fine was about $100. I am mortified by this and also very concerned that I will have a criminal record now in Australia or a warrant for my arrest or other harsh penalties.
I loved my time in the country and would have paid the fine immediately had I known what I was doing. I am British and would love to come back to Australia, probably Sydney or Brisbane but am now terrified that I will not get a visa, be arrested at the airport and/or have a massive fine.
Who should I contact to pay my fine? Do small fines get written off after a period of time?
Will an unpaid fine of $100 in 2002 result in an arrest warrant or a much larger fine e.g. Thousands of dollars?
Will I have a criminal record now?
Will I not be able to get a visitors visa for Australia now?
Will I get arrested at Sydney airport on arrival?
Thanks in advance for your help. I want to do the right thing and although I was obviously stupid whilst having drunk too much I know that isn't an excuse to break the law and hope that I can return to Australia one day.
I travelled to Darwin in NT in October 2002 on a working holiday visa. I had thought that I had behaved impeccably, however, I met up with a friend recently and he told me that one night I had committed a minor public order offence (urinating in the street) when very drunk and that the police had caught me and fined me on the spot.
I have no recollection of this, I never had the docket and was completely unaware. My friend is adamant that it happened and that the fine was about $100. I am mortified by this and also very concerned that I will have a criminal record now in Australia or a warrant for my arrest or other harsh penalties.
I loved my time in the country and would have paid the fine immediately had I known what I was doing. I am British and would love to come back to Australia, probably Sydney or Brisbane but am now terrified that I will not get a visa, be arrested at the airport and/or have a massive fine.
Who should I contact to pay my fine? Do small fines get written off after a period of time?
Will an unpaid fine of $100 in 2002 result in an arrest warrant or a much larger fine e.g. Thousands of dollars?
Will I have a criminal record now?
Will I not be able to get a visitors visa for Australia now?
Will I get arrested at Sydney airport on arrival?
Thanks in advance for your help. I want to do the right thing and although I was obviously stupid whilst having drunk too much I know that isn't an excuse to break the law and hope that I can return to Australia one day.
