Tens of thousands of people who were in debt to the New South Wales government for breaching COVID-19 health orders are off the hook.
It all started in the New South Wales Supreme Court with two test cases which within a matter of hours prompted a decision by the state's revenue agency to cancel more than 33,000 fines — amounting to about $10 million.
Justice Dina Yehia concluded both cases did not meet the requirements under the Fines Act, finding the infringements did not have sufficient wording of the offence committed and were therefore invalid.
The head of Revenue NSW Scott Johnston said all those affected will be contacted.
"We will be working through a process to contact everyone who's either made payments to discuss and get a refund to those people as quickly as possible," he said.
"We will have to write to everyone to get their details so that we return the money to the right bank accounts for them, we'll also have a hotline."
Here are the details.
What does it mean for people who have been fined?
A total of 62,138 COVID-19 related fines were issued by Revenue NSW in the state throughout the pandemic.
About half of those, 33,121 fines, will be withdrawn.
If the fine features this wording, expect a refund;
- "Fail to comply with noticed direction in relation section 7/8/9 — COVID-19" – Individual.
- "Fail to comply with noticed direction in relation section 7/8/9 — COVID-19" – Company.
Revenue NSW said they will make contact to arrange a refund or credit the payment towards other outstanding debts.
"Those that haven't resolved those fines, there will be nothing further for them to do but we will advise as such," Mr Johnston said.
There are about 8,000 fines that remain unresolved or overdue that will no longer be pursued, with those people expected to be advised their fine is withdrawn.
The Redfern Legal Centre, who represented the three test cases at the New South Wales Supreme Court, said the majority of fines had been issued in lower-socio economic areas and to First Nations people.
"This is a case for them. For those out in Western Sydney who were issued a fine not according to law," the centre's acting principal solicitor Samantha Lee said.
"This is about the power of the people coming forward and putting the state to the test."
The NSW/ACT Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) has called the mass cancellation a "huge victory" for the people of New South Wales.
"The onus has been on disadvantaged community members and cash-strapped community legal services to prove COVID fines were invalid when it was the government's responsibility to ensure it was following the letter of the law," ALS CEO Karly Warner said.
Revenue NSW will also open a hotline for queries to be made over the phone.
Whose fines are cancelled?
On Tuesday, the New South Wales Supreme Court heard two test cases, Brendan Beame and Teal Els, who received fines for between $1,000 and $3,000.
Lawyers argued the fine delivered to Ms Els in the mail had no details about breaching public health orders.
Both fines were found to be too vague, with Justice Yehia also saying the state would pay those defendants' legal costs.
Rohan Pank, the first person to bring his case to the Redfern Legal Centre in July, had his $1,000 fine dismissed for sitting on a hill at Sydney Park in August last year.
"I believed in my innocence, and I looked into the rules, and I certainly didn't do anything wrong and when I found out the fines would stand, I knew something had to be done," he said.
"It's fantastic. This has been going for over year and we have been dealing with the fine and it's great to have some closure."
Who still needs to pay?
The remaining 29,017 people issued COVID-19 fines are still expected to pay, if not already resolved.
Mr Johnston said these fines include more specific details about the offence.
"They're still valid fines. The question was not about whether those offences actually happened, it was whether there was sufficient detail on the notice sent to people," he said.
The Law Society of NSW said these outstanding fines are being shouldered by vulnerable communities and should be reviewed.
NSW Police statistics showed Walgett, Brewarrina and Wilcannia — all with high Indigenous populations — received the most number of fines per capita.
Ms Warner is also calling for the remaining fines to be cancelled.
"The government has dragged people through the courts only to concede that some fines may never have been valid in the first place," she said.
"How many more people does it plan to put through this ordeal before accepting that all COVID fines must be cancelled?".
