There are nearly $850 million in unpaid fines in Victoria, leaving a gaping hole in the state’s finances.
A 9News investigation revealed the scale of the deficit, and found plenty of fines are being issued but not paid.
In total, a record $847 million is owed, documents show.
Of that, $353 million is unpaid speeding fines, $276 million is for tolling fines, $111 for parking infringements, $76 million in court penalties and $65 million in red light camera fines.
“That sends a shocking message of unaccountability,” Victorian Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowsell said.
When asked if she was comfortable with the level of unpaid fines in the state, the Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said “no I am not”, but blamed some of the backlog on the pandemic.
“We took a very empathetic response to fine recoupment during Covid for example … so a lot of the sheriff’s work is now picking up in relation to fines that people have not paid attention to,” Symes said.
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The government is also chasing up fewer fines, with the number of notices of final demand being sent more than halving.
Russell White from Road Safety Australia said the lack of follow up means people are not deterred from breaking the law.
“People will think ‘oh, I got a fine, but I haven’t paid it, nothing bad has happened’ so they just carry on, and it just ramps up more bad behaviour because there’s no consequence,” he said.
The money owed could fund 11,000 more police officers or teachers, 10,000 more nurses, more than 50 new primary schools, or half of a new major hospital.
“The Andrews government needs to stop with the excuses and go after that cash. If they did, we’d be able to do so much more,” Rowsell said.
