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City of Greater Shepparton
URL: http://www.greatershepparton.com.au/news/feewaiver.html
Please note: this is an archived news article release.
This article was published on 11 March 2010. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.
Fee waiver encourages residents to pay up
News article released on Thursday 11 March 2010
Greater Shepparton City Council is participating in the Victorian Government’s fine waiver scheme, that gives residents the chance to pay fines without the accumulated charges.
Under the fee waiver, which ends on Friday 19 March 2010, people can pay their outstanding fines issued by Council without the additional late fees placed on top once they reach the court system.
Greater Shepparton City Council general Manager Corporate Services Dwight Graham said the infringements concerned to Council are those related to people who did not vote at the local government elections last year, outstanding Local Law infringements and unpaid parking fines.
"The waiver applies to fees and charges applied to the original infringement, for example court costs and late fees," Mr Graham said.
"It does not waive the original infringement costs.
"There is only about a week left until the fine waiver scheme ends, so I encourage those people who have either forgotten about old fines, or have been avoiding paying do so quickly."
Greater Shepparton City Council is one of more than 20 councils across Victoria participating in this fine waiver scheme. The waiver also applies to all State Government-issued fines including the Department of Transport, Victoria Police, and Department of Primary Industries.
Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls who launched the scheme in Melbourne last month said the Sheriff's Office would launch a planned enforcement crackdown once the fee waiver ended in a firm but fair approach to fine defaulters.
"The Sheriff's Office will be targeting people with outstanding warrants in a series of operations across the state once the fee waiver is finished," he said.
"This gives fine defaulters an ever greater opportunity to act on their fines instead of simply hoping they will go away," Mr Hulls said.
"The public's response to the fee waiver has been very promising so far, with a significant number of people taking up the opportunity to deal with their fines."
People who have difficulty paying their fines have the option of entering into payment plans and this option is still available throughout the fee waiver period by calling 1300 221 249.
Further information about paying fines is available at www.fines.vic.gov.au.