The New South Wales government is resisting growing calls to scrap tens of thousands of COVID fines, which lawyers say were unjustly issued, including to a teenager with an intellectual disability.
The question of whether the government and NSW Police were heavy-handed in their pandemic response will be argued in a test case before the NSW Supreme Court.
The Redfern Legal Centre hopes its legal challenge will quash 45,000 fines, which it says failed to properly outline the offence committed.
"The process was unjust, messy, and the rule of law was not followed," the centre's Samantha Lee told 7.30.
The agency responsible for COVID penalties, Revenue NSW, said that of the 62,035 fines issued since early 2020, more than half, or 38,372 remained unpaid in full.
While the majority of these are being paid in some form of repayment plan, many have gone unanswered.
In total, 3,840 children between 13 and 17 years of age were fined between $40 and $5,000, which lawyers say should be waived as cautions.
Revenue NSW said 17 fines issued to children totalling $45,000 remain unresolved.
"This is a form of unjust treatment to children," Ms Lee said. "These children have been fined for $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000.
"One child who has an intellectual disability was given three $1,000 fines for being out of his house. I'm of the view that he should never have been issued a fine.
"Under the fine acts, someone who has an intellectual disability should not have been issued a fine."
The Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay told 7.30 she wants to see all fines suspended nationally given the system disproportionately affected poorer communities in NSW and Victoria.
"It's actually a nationwide issue, and what we really need to do is firstly, in respect to the fines, pause enforcement until they can be properly reviewed so that the public can have confidence that the fine system is lawful and working fairly," she said.
"But secondly, we actually need to have a broader review into the pandemic response."
Children volunteer to pay off fines through government program
Some people penalised in NSW have chosen to pay off the fines through a program known as a Work and Development Order (WDO).
It allows people on low incomes to pay down the fine through unpaid work or activities such as a life skills course, counselling, drug and alcohol treatment and mentoring.
About 140 children have taken part in WDOs, including some at SydWest Multicultural Services in Blacktown, which was among the suburbs that suffered harsher restrictions than the rest of Sydney.
Case worker Bronwyn O'Brien told 7.30 that NSW Police had been unforgiving to residents, particularly if they were multilingual.
She cited a case of a father and a son who had gone out to get groceries and tried to explain themselves to police, but were ignored.
"Any opportunity for them to explain was shut down and they were immediately given a $1,000 fine each," Ms O'Brien said.
She said it took weeks for people in the WDO program to pay off their fines.
"They were like $500, or $1,000 per fine. For the clients we’re working with that could be their weekly or fortnightly pay, if they're receiving Centrelink it's even worse."
"Some people, they have to spend months and months to engage in activities just to get the fine down just a bit."
Connor Jago was 17 when police issued him with two COVID fines for not wearing a mask on a train, and a separate transport fine, totalling $680.
"That was more than I make in two weeks almost," he told 7.30.
The second $80 COVID fine was because he was wearing a mask below his nose after putting it on, Mr Jago told 7.30.
He threatened to take the government to court, arguing he was complying with police directions before Revenue NSW dropped one of the COVID fines of $500.
Fines commissioner says repayment system beneficial
In a rare interview with 7.30, the head of Revenue NSW defended the organisation, and welcomed any review of individual cases.
The chief commissioner of state revenue, Scott Johnston, would not be drawn on whether it was appropriate for police to fine children as young as 13, and said the WDO program had had "powerful" outcomes.
"Some of the criticism or challenge on the way that we've done that, about imposing unfair penalties on people and youths, I think is not really reflective on the experience that the people who received these fines have had," he said.
"I understand completely that a fine affects people differently. Some people can't afford to pay that commitment and the genuine commitment from my organisation, and [me], is to have a conversation with people where they need help and support."
Mr Johnston said the agency had resolved the cases of 500 children under 15 who were fined $40 for not wearing a mask.
NSW Police declined to comment to 7.30, while the Victorian Government told 7.30 its penalty system protected citizens from the pandemic and that there are options available if people are struggling to pay off fines.
Watch this story on 7.30 on ABC TV and ABC iview.
