Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (12:15): I am delighted to contribute to this bill, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Fines Reform and Other Matters) Bill 2022, because this bill is important to contributing to the development of a fairer, more effective infringement system in this state, and I think that is what we all want. We do not want to be talking about backflipping. We do not want to be talking about all these other issues. We do not want to be talking about New South Wales. We want to be talking about the people of Victoria, and that is what I am going to talk about in my contribution today, because I am here, as the member for Caulfield clearly said, to represent the best interests of the people of Wendouree, and I do that every day. I am very proud of my record over the last three years of representing the good people of Wendouree, and I will also do it today and every day into the future as long as I am their elected member. Talking about excellent elected members, I am really pleased to follow on from the contributions of the Assistant Treasurer and the member for Mordialloc—always great contributors to this place, and once again great members who are always thinking about the best interests of their electorates as well as the interests of all Victorians. I am pleased to be following on from their contributions.

Bills like this do not just happen. They happen because there is a lot of work. There is a lot of work by the ministerial office, there is a lot of work engaging with stakeholders, there is a lot of work by the advisers. I would really like to thank the Attorney-General in the other place, who does an exceptional job, and her ministerial office that is very, very hardworking, the department and everyone who has contributed to bringing this bill to the house.

This bill is really building on the very fine work of the Fines Reform Advisory Board—and I am going to be talking a bit more about this important board—and consulting with the fines system stakeholders in the drafting of this legislation. Importantly, I understand that the department additionally intends to prepare and distribute further supporting materials to make sure that people involved with fines have a really clear understanding of what the recommendations from the Fines Reform Advisory Board mean and what this new legislation will deliver. So thank you to everyone for their excellent work on that.

I would also like, as I often do, to acknowledge the work of the former Attorney-General, the member for Altona, who has been integral to implementing the fines reform model in Victoria, another one of her many achievements as health minister and as Attorney-General in transforming and making our state fairer. It is just terrific to also acknowledge the contribution she has made.

Look, we know that nobody likes a fine. There is nothing fine about getting a fine. It is not what you want, it is not what you do. But we know that infringement notices and infringements are an important and necessary component of our justice system. They play a number of different roles. They provide incentives for compliance with laws and regulations, and they protect our community. Community safety is enhanced because of our infringement system. It is also an opportunity—diverting fine recipients from entering the criminal justice system. We know that keeping people out of and away from custodial sentences has a positive benefit on families, on relationships and particularly on mothers with young children. Our government has worked extensively to ensure the fairness and efficiency of Victoria’s fines system, and the bill before the house today builds upon a series of continuing reforms.

As has already been mentioned today, following the commencement of the Fines Reform Act of 2014 Fines Victoria was established in 2017. This administrative body provides a single point of contact for the public to deal with both infringement and court fines and in doing so implements the fines reform model, which seeks to make dealing with fines easier and, importantly, fairer for Victorians. Following on from this, in 2019 the government sought independent advice on the implementation of the Fines Reform Act by establishing the Fines Reform Advisory Board. The board went on to consult extensively with stakeholders and community members in producing their report. My sincere appreciation goes to members of the board for their work, as well as everyone who engaged with them during this process. It was the board’s 2020 report to the then Governor-General that made a number of recommendations. The government has supported seven in full and six in principle as well as committing to further consideration of the remaining 11.

Since then eight of these recommendations have already been implemented in part or in full, including two that resulted in legislative change to better recognise the special circumstances in the fines system and to improve the administration of time-served audits. The bill before us today seeks to improve the efficacy and the fairness of the fines system by legislating another five of the board’s recommendations, and in addition by making amendments to the Fines Reform Act 2014 and the Infringements Act 2006 as well as some minor and technical amendments to a number of other acts.

Let us have a look at the five recommendations of the Fines Reform Advisory Board. This bill will cover a range of transparency, equity and efficiency improvements. First of all, the bill clarifies the policy aims of the infringements system and specifies its underlying purposes. This is done by amending the Fines Reform Act to clearly state the four objectives of fines reform, being: centralised collection and enforcement; stronger enforcement mechanisms; better support for the vulnerable and disadvantaged, which is very important to me; and enhanced review and oversight processes. In doing so this government is directly addressing recommendation 1 of the board’s report: establish a common understanding of the fines system across policy, stakeholders and indeed the broader community.

This bill will also consolidate transparency measures by requiring the Attorney-General to publish an annual report on the fines system, in response to the board’s fifth recommendation. These reports are currently prepared each year by the department. However, with this bill these will now be clarified as a legislative obligation. The bill also goes one step further with the requirement that these reports include information on the Fines Victoria director’s internal review oversight function. Such transparency is essential in maintaining public confidence in the conduct of the infringements system.

I would now like to look at the time served matter from recommendation 12. A number of the provisions also address fairness and equity, including the implementation of recommendation 12, which will ensure a more accessible time-served scheme. I know that those who leave prison in debt are more likely to return and that this is an outcome that nobody wants. Leaving prison and fitting back into society is challenging enough without having the additional worry of having fines to pay off. Therefore this scheme supports an individual’s rehabilitation and reintegration in the community by allowing a clean slate through serving time concurrently or cumulatively with other offences—a really, really important step forward for so many people.

I also note that recommendation 13 of the board, which addresses the administrative process involved, has already been legislated through the Justice Legislation Amendment (System Enhancements and Other Matters) Act 2021. This bill improves the scheme further by ensuring the equal treatment of prisoners with unpaid court fines and unpaid infringement fines, allowing the inclusion of time spent on remand and removing the requirement to additionally serve time in lieu of paying fine-related fees and costs. And I know this change is welcome.

The fourth of the five recommendations is recommendation 18, which advises that additional time be allowed to obtain evidence for enforcement review applications on the grounds of special or exceptional circumstances. These applications can be considered in a range of relevant circumstances, including disability, illness, addiction, homelessness and family violence—all key issues that this government knows too well are creating greater disadvantage and a lack of opportunity for people. We will take into account all of these circumstances. It is imperative that proper consideration occurs of the vulnerabilities and disadvantages experienced by persons who have been issued with fines. The bill introduces more flexibility to the application process by allowing applicants extra time to provide the necessary and supporting evidence, and I know that I have had people contact my office seeking support with that. I commend the bill to the house.

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