Payments
Time to pay for enforcement orders
- Paying enforcement orders by instalments
- Application for time to pay
- How do we assess and approve 'Time to Pay' applications?
- Can a decision to refuse a 'Time to Pay' application be reviewed?
Paying enforcement orders by instalments
After you have received an enforcement order, you can apply to pay by instalments by entering into a time to pay agreement. You do this by returning a completed Time to Pay form.
Note: It is too late to apply for time to pay after a community service order has been issued.
Application for 'Time to Pay'
Once your penalty notice has become an enforcement order, you can apply to pay by instalments. Complete a 'Time to Pay' application.
To apply for 'Time to Pay', complete the application in full specifying an amount you can afford to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Post or fax the completed 'Time to Pay' application to us with your:
- most recent income statement from Centrelink (if applicable)
- most recent bank statement
- employment pay slip
If we receive your application before the enforcement order's due date and it is approved, we will not take further enforcement action against you for that order.
If we have instructed the RTA to apply restrictions after the due date of the enforcement order, entering into a time to pay agreement will not reverse any enforcement action taken against you. This includes, but is not limited to:
- a notice of suspension - suspension of your driver licence
- a notice of cancellation of vehicle registration or fleet registration cancellation
- a notice of advice that a customer business restriction has been applied
- a visit or seizure of goods by the Sheriff as a result of a property seizure order
- monies taken from your bank account or wages as a result of a garnishee order being issued against you.
If your 'Time to Pay' application is approved, further enforcement action will not take place as long as you make your payment by the instalment dates on your time to pay schedule.
In certain cases we may authorise the RTA to lift your restrictions while you pay your fines in instalments.
Read more information on how to get your RTA restrictions lifted while paying your fines by instalments. Note: the assessment of your application to have your RTA restrictions lifted will take a minimum of five days to process.
How do we assess and approve 'Time to Pay' applications?
Upon receipt, we assess your application based on your income and expenses.
If your application is approved, we will send you a time to pay order which sets out:
- how much you are required to pay
- a schedule of dates when you are to make payments
- what enforcement orders are included on the time to pay order
Note: if you get another enforcement order, or some of your enforcement orders are not included in the time to pay order, you should contact us immediately to ensure all of your enforcement orders are included.
Sometimes the dates of the payments do not match the dates that you receive your wages or Centrelink benefits. As long as your payment is made within one week of the date the payment is due, your time to pay order will not be defaulted.
If your circumstances change and you are no longer able to pay according to the schedule you should contact us to discuss your options.
If you do not make your payments according to the 'Time to Pay' schedule, the order will be cancelled and further enforcement action will be taken against you.
We reserve the right to review any approved 'Time to Pay' agreement where we have identified a change in your financial circumstances.
Note: information provided in the 'Time to Pay' application may be used for further enforcement action. This may include:
- Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) restrictions
- having your personal belongings taken and sold by the Sheriff
- taking part of your wages or money from your bank account to satisfy the debt
- being called before the local courts to have your financial circumstances examined.
If you pay instalments in time and add any new order(s) to your time to pay order before the due date(s), no further action will be taken against you.
Can a decision to refuse a 'Time to Pay' application be reviewed?
If your 'Time to Pay' application is refused or assessed at a higher amount than has been proposed, you may ask us to review our decision. Complete and send another 'Time to Pay' application with supporting documents showing you cannot afford to pay the amount requested.
You can also apply to have decisions reviewed by the Fines Hardship Review Board.
