Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
Almost half of all Covid-19 public health order fines issued in NSW will be withdrawn in a decision which is expected to cost the state government more than $30 million.
The NSW government sensationally decided to withdraw two types of Covid fines on Tuesday, which will see more than 33,000 fines cancelled or refunded.
The extraordinary decision comes after the NSW government conceded in court that two types of penalty notices issued to people for Covid-19 rule breaches were invalid.
The admission opened the door to more than 30,000 Covid fines being challenged in the courts.
In a bid to avoid legal action, the Commissioner of Fines Administration on Tuesday announced that he would withdraw two types of fines issued during the pandemic.
The fines that will be withdrawn are:
‘Fail to comply with noticed direction in relation section 7/8/9 – COVID-19’ – Individual, and ‘Fail to comply with noticed direction in relation section 7/8/9 – COVID-19’ – Company.
The two penalty notices which will be withdrawn were among the most common penalty notices issued by police to people alleged of breaching Covid-19 public health orders.
“A total of 33,121 fines will be withdrawn, which is around half of the total number of 62,138 COVID-19 related fines issued,” Customer Service NSW said in a statement.
“This decision does not mean the offences were not committed.”
Any fines already paid will be refunded, and any fines that have not been settled will be withdrawn.
The cost for withdrawing the two penalty notices is expected to be in excess of $30 million.
The alleged offences for which the penalty notices were issued during the Covid lockdowns included people gathering in groups or being outside of home without a reasonable excuse, and businesses breaching capacity limits.
At the start of last year’s Delta lockdown, two men were also issued $1000 fines after they got lost in bushland after being startled by a deer while sunbaking naked.
The admission that two penalty notices issued during the pandemic came in a court case brought by the Redfern Legal centre on behalf of three clients who were each fined between $1000 and $3000 after they allegedly breached public health orders in 2021.
It was argued that the fines were not valid because the penalty notices do not provide enough detail of the alleged offence, as required under the Act.
“The remaining 29,017 COVID-19 fines will still be required to be paid if not already resolved. They are not affected by this decision,” Customer Service NSW said.
