Court Invalidates $3,000 Fine for Leaving Sydney During COVID
The NSW Supreme Court ruling has raised doubts about the legal validity of 30,000 fines issued during the pandemic.
In 2021, the NSW Supreme Court deemed a $3,000 fine for leaving Greater Sydney without a permit to be unlawful, sparking uncertainty surrounding approximately 30,000 similar fines issued during the pandemic.
This marks the second ruling of this nature.
Despite this ruling, Revenue NSW has stated that it will not retract the fines. Instead, each case will be evaluated individually, likely requiring those fined to plead their case with the government and potentially pursue legal action.
The case in question involved a $3,000 fine imposed on Angelika Kosciolek for leaving Greater Sydney in 2021. Despite being homeless, she had arranged to travel to South Australia after receiving accommodation there.
Justice Desmond Fagan emphasized that fines issued during the pandemic must meet the minimum requirements established in a 2022 Supreme Court ruling. This ruling outlined that for a fine to be valid, the penalty notice must clearly cite the relevant Act and provision related to the offense.
Ms. Kosciolek’s fine was found to have failed this test, with the Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) pointing out that most COVID-19 fines also lacked precise details regarding the violated laws.
‘Withdraw and Repay’: Redfern Legal Centre
Samantha Lee, senior solicitor at the Centre, stated, “If a COVID fine fails to state the specific offense, the fine is invalid.” RLC believes that the judgment supports the invalidity of the remaining COVID fines and urges Revenue NSW to withdraw and refund the 29,000 outstanding fines.
Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnston, however, stated during a Budget Estimates hearing that Revenue NSW will not retract any of the remaining fines. Instead, they will continue to assess each case individually.
Despite this, Ms. Lee urged Mr. Johnston to reconsider, stating, “The commissioner is refusing to honor a supreme court judgment and do the right thing by returning people’s money and retracting these fines that do not meet legal requirements.” She added, “We’re giving the commissioner time to reconsider and make the right decision to withdraw these fines. If not, then watch this space.”
Following a similar NSW Supreme Court ruling in 2022, more than 33,000 COVID fines totaling millions of dollars were canceled due to insufficient offense details.
Revenue NSW withdrew 33,121 fines in that instance, indicating that around half of the 62,138 COVID-related infringement notices issued during the pandemic in the state were deemed invalid. However, Revenue NSW stressed that withdrawing the fines does not imply that the offenses were not committed.
