Page 561 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 22 February 2012
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20 kilometres over the speed limit, which is a $245 fine. That amount of money means very different things to different people. For some people this fine alone would consume 15 per cent of their fortnightly pre-tax earnings, including overtime. For a person on Newstart allowance, the single fine would be 50 per cent of their fortnightly income.
Licence suspensions sometimes occur because a person is unable to pay, but sometimes disadvantaged people lose their licence because circumstances in their life mean that they did not have the capacity to engage with the system. This could include, for example, a person lacking language skills, someone with mental illness or intellectual disability, or a person of no fixed address.
A person whose licence is fine-suspended cannot get their licence back while they are paying off the fine. This is especially problematic given that low income or other disadvantaged people often rely on their licence in order to access employment and income. Suspending someone’s licence can mean suspending their means of income or support. In many cases, once a vulnerable person’s licence is lost due to unpaid fines, they have virtually no chance of getting it back.
A person who responds to a traffic infringement notice within the time period can apply for an extension of time for payment of up to six months. This is the only administrative flexibility that is available. There is no option to pay the fine in instalments. Nor is there an option for people to pay by other methods, such as by doing community work or a social development program. Nor is there an opportunity for the administering authority to waive the fine if the person is in special circumstances—for example, a person who is homeless or has a disability and has no prospects of ever repaying the fine.
It is important to note that the scenario I am discussing all occurs administratively. There is no option for a person to apply to a court unless they are actually contesting liability of the offence. They may not apply to a court for any reconsideration based on their circumstances. For people with limited means and limited support, the inflexibility of this system can have very serious consequences. The spiralling impacts of a single traffic fine can result in the loss of their licence, loss of income and employment, loss of housing and even homelessness.
This is not a theoretical or hypothetical discussion. There are real-life examples of this occurring in Canberra. The Greens have had the opportunity of discussing this issue with numerous people and organisations. These include individuals who have been affected personally, employment agencies whose clients are unable to access their services due to licence suspension, and ACT community groups working with vulnerable individuals. Some members will be interested to know that the Tuggeranong Community Council passed a motion asking for changes to address the harsh impact of fine suspension on people struggling to access work. ACT community organisations have documented numerous examples of how the ACT’s inflexible traffic infringement system has caused severe hardships for disadvantaged Canberrans.
Today I released a short paper that reproduced some of the case studies documented by community groups. One case study, for example, documents an ACT resident who
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