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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2317 ..

I will deal first with the collection of fines from interstate offenders.

The current problem faced by all jurisdictions in collecting fines from defaulters who, either at the time they are fined or subsequently, reside interstate, is that there are few enforcement options available to them. Presently the only scheme which operates nationally is Part 7 of the Commonwealth SERVICE AND EXECUTION OF PROCESS ACT 1992 (SEPA) which provides for the enforcement of fines imposed by courts of summary jurisdiction.

In light of the need for all jurisdictions to maximise the effectiveness of revenue collection mechanisms Governments need to improve the efficiency of procedures adopted for the collection of unpaid fines penalties and associated charges.

It is unsatisfactory, for example, that enforcement options under Part 7 of the Service and Execution of Process Act do not extend to infringement notice penalties, which represent a significant proportion of the fines imposed by States and Territories. Therefore consideration needs to be given to alternatives to reliance on the Service and Execution of Process Act for enforcement of interstate fines. Any proposed scheme should include the enforcement of administrative penalties, such as "infringement notices", where pursuant to the legislation of the originating jurisdiction such fines are deemed to be "court imposed".

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