Wyndham residents could face having their cars clamped or registration suspended over unpaid litter, parking or animal registration fines after the council announced changes to the way it will collect unpaid fines.
From July 1, residents who fail to pay fines issued by the council under state government laws for litter, town planning, environmental health, parking and animal registrations, will have to face the infringements court.
Currently, those types of offences are dealt with in a magistrates court.
The change means unpaid fines will be pursued by the Sheriff’s Office once the infringements court has made a decision.
The Sheriff’s Office will be able to use its full range of powers to recoup the fine, including suspending car registrations and drivers’ licences, clamping wheels and, in some cases, seizing property.
Council chief executive Kerry Thompson said Wyndham was following other municipalities which had changed the way they collected and processed state government fines. In the past year, the council has taken 1719 cases of unpaid fines to the magistrates court at a cost of more than $86,000.
Mayor Bob Fairclough said the new approach would save time and money. “It will result in reduced costs for the council and a reduced workload for the magistrates court,” he said. “But it won’t remove the right of any individual to appear before a magistrate if they wish. The council will no longer require the services of debt collection agencies to pursue unpaid fines.”
Fines issued under council laws will still be processed by the magistrates court.
