Enforcement Review Application (Case Study)
Court Location: Dandenong (Fines Victoria)
Facts:
Our client had sold a vehicle to an acquaintance in the latter part of 2017. He took down the registration details and together they filled out a transfer of registration.
Unfortunately, the purchasor never took the completed transfer of registration form to VicRoads and thus the car remained registered in our client’s name.
What then occurred, was our client received an excessive number of infringements as well as police coming to his door in relation to offences and police pursuits that the vehicle was involved in.
Our client on numerous occasions had informed the police of the details of the purchasor. He had also tried to cancel the registration with VicRoads but was unable to do so without returning the plates.
Unfortunately, this situation only became worse and worse for our client and overtime he missed a nomination for an excessive speed infringement and had his licence suspended for 12 months.
This was an extremely difficult situation for our client, given he was losing his licence for an offence he did not commit, simply because he became overwhelmed with the number of fines that were coming in.
Result:
This was a matter that required quick action, not only because our client’s licence would remain suspended until the issue was fixed, but also because certain legal avenues would close off quickly.
With infringement matters there are strict timelines, particularly for excessive speed infringements, being the ones that attract an automatic suspension.
Because the 28 day period had elapsed, our client was prevented from nominating the driver of the vehicle. Furthermore, as he couldn’t establish that he had only become aware of the infringement in the last 14 days, his options were extremely limited.
Ultimately, our office prepared a detailed application for an enforcement review on our client’s behalf. To do this we relied on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, in that he had nominated many other matters and informed police previously of who had possession of the vehicle.
We subpoenaed Victoria Police for their internal records detailing the involvement of that vehicle and also evidencing the times our client had informed them of the situation. We enclosed this material with our application to Fines Victoria.
It was imperative that we included as much detail as possible, because long gone are the days that an unsuccessful application can be appealed to the Magistrates’ Court should Fines Victoria refuse the application.
Ultimately, Fines Victoria found in our favour and granted the Enforcement Review and overturned the infringements. This overturned the 12 month suspension of our client’s licence.
This was an excellent result given our client would not be able to work if he was unable to regain his licence.
The right outcome ensued because of our detailed preparation and thorough analysis. Given these applications can only now be made on the papers and no right of appeal applies, it was imperative that every care was taken to ensure we got the right outcome the first time. It also highlights the need to immediately seek legal advice when first becoming aware of unpaid infringements as strict time limits apply.
