Penalty notice offences

Reference received: 5 December 2008

Report

Report 132: Penalty Notices (PDF, 2.2 MB) [PDF, 2Mb], February 2012

Tabled in parliament: 29 March 2012
Summary of Report 132 (PDF, 2.4 MB)[PDF, 2Mb], February 2012

Consultation paper

Consultation Paper 10: Penalty Notices (PDF, 1.2 MB) [PDF, 1177Kb], September 2010

Submissions

Submissions

Terms of Reference

I, JOHN HATZISTERGOS, Attorney General of New South Wales, having regard to the importance of a fair, just and effective penalty notice system,

REFER to the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, for inquiry and report pursuant to section 10 of the Law Reform Commission Act 1967, the laws relating to the use of penalty notices in New South Wales.

In carrying out this inquiry, the Commission will have particular regard to:

whether current penalty amounts are commensurate with the objective seriousness of the offences to which they relate;
the consistency of current penalty amounts for the same or similar offences;
the formulation of principles and guidelines for determining which offences are suitable for enforcement by penalty notices;
the formulation of principles and guidelines for a uniform and transparent method of fixing penalty amounts and their adjustment over time;
whether penalty notices should be issued to children and young people, having regard to their limited earning capacity and the requirement for them to attend school up to the age of 15. If so: (a) whether penalty amounts for children and young people should be set at a rate different to adults; (b) whether children and young people should be subject to a shorter conditional "good behaviour" period following a write-off of their fines; and (c) whether the licence sanction scheme under the Fines Act 1996 should apply to children and young people;
whether penalty notices should be issued to people with an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment; and
any related matter.

In undertaking this reference, the Commission will consult with agencies that issue and enforce penalty notices.

While the Commission may consider penalty notice offences under road transport legislation administered by the Minister for Roads, the Commission need not consider any potential amendments to these offences as these offences have already been subject to an extensive review.