The New South Wales government of Australia has voided 23,539 COVID-19 fines and pledged to refund $5.5 million to those who paid, citing legal advice that some notices failed to meet requirements under the Fines Act.
Revenue NSW, in consultation with NSW Police, made the decision following concerns about insufficient information on the penalty notices. Revenue NSW Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnston confirmed the move.
“Revenue NSW will begin contacting affected customers this week,” Johnston said.
The invalidated fines do not include cases before the courts, as those are outside the government’s control.
In 2022, around 36,000 other COVID fines were scrapped for similar reasons. While initially deemed compliant, the remaining notices were later found to also lack clarity under legal review.
During the pandemic, harsh rules imposed fines up to $11,000 or six months in prison for breaching health orders. Notable cases included a woman fined $3,000 for leaving Sydney without a permit, later ruled invalid by the NSW Supreme Court.
Sky News commentator Chris Kenny called the refunds “a victory” and urged the government to apologise. “They need to apologise and have that royal commission,” he said.
NSW Police declined to comment on the decision.
Source: Skynews
