CAV Resource Centre - Infringement Notices

Consumer Affairs Victoria uses a range of tools, including infringement notices, to enforce compliance in various industries.

Please read the information below if you:

have been issued with an infringement notice or
would like to know more about Consumer Affairs Victoria’s infringement notices powers.

1. What is an infringement notice and what does one look like?

An infringement notice is an administrative notice, authorised by statute, that enables minor law breaking to be dealt with by the payment of a fine rather than court proceedings.

The alleged offender can choose to:

pay a penalty to discharge their potential criminal liability without admitting guilt or
have the matter dealt with by a court.

The penalty amount for an infringement notice is less than the normal maximum penalty that can be imposed by the court if they make a finding of guilt.

View an example infringement notice (PDF | 40 KB)

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2. For which offences can Consumer Affairs Victoria issue an infringement notice?

Consumer Affairs Victoria can issue an infringement notice where the specific Act allows.

Provisions, and penalties for breaching provisions under each Act:

Building under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995
Co-operatives under the Co-operatives Act 1996
Estate Agents under the Estate Agents Act 1980
Fair Trading under the Fair Trading Act 1999
Fundraising under the Fundraising Act 1998
Incorporated Associations under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981
Motor Car Traders under the Motor Car Traders Act 1986 and Motor Car Traders Regulations 1998
Pawnbrokers under the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989
Prostitution under the Prostitution Control Act 1994
Residential Tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Act 1998 and Residential Tenancies Regulations 2008
Trade Measurement under the Trade Measurement Act 1995 and Trade Measurement Regulations 2007
Travel Agents under the Travel Agents Act 1986

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3. When will Consumer Affairs Victoria issue an infringement notice?

Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors are authorised to issue infringement notices under the legislation administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Inspectors visit people and businesses in many industries. We also receive complaints and information from members of the public that can lead us to investigate a matter.

If we find a person or business not complying with the relevant legislation, we can pursue a number of enforcement options.

Educational or warning letters advise individuals, businesses and companies about the standard of conduct expected under the law. Serious breaches can result in court action. Between these extremes are infringement notices.

We issue infringement notices where a person breaches a strict liability offence.

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4. How does Consumer Affairs Victoria issue an infringement notice?

An infringement notice can be issued on-the-spot or following enquiries conducted by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

This means that an infringement notice can be issued on the date of the alleged offence. However, it can also be issued within six months from the date of the alleged offence.

An inspector can serve an infringement notice by:

delivering it personally to a person; or
sending it via post to the last known place of residence or business of the person.

If the alleged offender is a company, an infringement notice can be served by:

leaving the notice at, or posting the notice to, the company’s registered office
personally delivering the notice to a Director of the company who resides in Australia or in an external Territory.

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5. What must I do if I receive an infringement notice?

If you receive an infringement notice, you have the following options:

pay the penalty in full by the due date as shown on the infringement notice
enter into a payment plan
request an internal review of the infringement notice
elect to have the matter heard in Court.

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6. How much are Consumer Affairs Victoria’s infringement notice penalties?

Penalties vary for infringement notices issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria. In each case, the amount of the fine is stipulated in the relevant legislation in terms of penalty units.

The amount of a penalty unit is set out in the Monetary Units Act 2004. Penalty unit amounts are reviewed annually and the amount generally increases at the start of each financial year.

For the 2008/09 financial year, 1 penalty unit equals $113.42.

Example:

Motor Car Traders Act 1986	Section 42A(1)	A person must not sell a registered motor car without providing a copy of a roadworthy certificate
Infringement notice penalty:	2 penalty units	2 x 113.42 = $226.84 Amount is then rounded to a whole figure in accordance with the Monetary Units Act 2004. Therefore, infringement amount becomes $227.00.

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7. How do I pay an infringement notice?

Paying the infringement notice in full

Full payment can be made by:

presenting your infringement notice with cash/credit card/EFTPOS at Civic Compliance Victoria, Level 1, 277 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Office hours are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday (not open public holidays)
posting your infringement notice with a cheque or money order payable to Civic Compliance Victoria, GPO Box 1916, Melbourne VIC 3001

Payment plans

A person served with an infringement notice may apply for a payment plan. This option is not available to companies.

If you wish to apply for a payment plan, please contact Civic Compliance Victoria on (03) 9200 8111 to discuss your options.

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8. What can I do if I want to dispute an infringement notice?

If you want to dispute an infringement notice issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria, you can:

request an internal review or
elect to have the matter heard in court.

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9. How do I request an internal review of CAV's decision to issue an infringement notice?

An alleged offender can request that Consumer Affairs Victoria conduct an internal review of the decision to issue an infringement notice.

An internal review may be requested on the grounds that:

a defect or mistake was made in the decision to serve the infringement notice, namely:

the decision to issue an infringement notice was contrary to law or
there was a mistake of identity

there are special circumstances, such as disability, addiction or homelessness; or
there are exceptional circumstances.

Note: Consumer Affairs Victoria will only review it’s decision to issue an infringement notice where it falls within one of the categories detailed above. Not knowing the law is not a justifiable reason for having an infringement notice reviewed or withdrawn.

Download Request for an Internal Review application form

Consumer Affairs Victoria will complete an internal review within 90 calendar days unless further information is requested from the applicant.

If Consumer Affairs Victoria requests further information from the applicant, the review will be suspended for up to 21 calendar days.

The applicant has 14 days from the date they receive the request to provide the further information. If the applicant fails to provide the further information, Consumer Affairs Victoria will continue the internal review without the additional information.

Once Consumer Affairs Victoria completes it’s internal review, it may:

confirm the decision to issue the infringement notice
approve a payment plan (instalment or extension of time to pay)
waive any or all prescribed costs (for example, fees associated with penalty reminder notices)
withdraw the notice and refer the matter to court
withdraw the notice, with or without giving the alleged offender an official warning.

Once the internal review is complete, Consumer Affairs Victoria will, within 21 calendar days, notify the applicant, in writing, of the outcome.

If Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms the decision to issue the infringement notice and a penalty reminder notice has already passed, the alleged offender has 14 calendar days from the time they receive the written notification of the outcome of the internal review in which to pay the infringement notice.

An alleged offender has the right to elect to have the matter heard in court.

An alleged offender has until an enforcement order is made or the period for the commencement of proceedings expires in which to apply to have the matter heard in court.

As such, if Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms the decision to issue and infringement notice, the alleged offender may still elect to have the matter heard in open court.

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10. What are special and exceptional circumstances? (internal reviews)

Special Circumstance (requesting an internal review)

The alleged offender is required to prove the following for a 'special circumstance' review:

(a) he/she suffers from

a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness
a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance or
homelessness; and

(b) that condition prevented him/her from realising that the conduct was an offence or from controlling that conduct.

An application should be supported by a current statement (dated within 12 months of the date of request of the review) from:

(a) a case worker, case manager or social worker; or

(b) a general practitioner, psychiatrist or psychologist; or

(c) an accredited drug treatment agency.

Exceptional Circumstance (requesting an internal review)

Exceptional circumstances encompass other areas of disadvantage, which do not fall within the narrow definition of special circumstance, such as language difficulties or simply a reasonable or good excuse.

Exceptional circumstances could therefore apply in circumstances of a medical emergency or an unavoidable and unforeseeable delay.

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11. Can I have the matter heard in court and will I need a lawyer?

If you are served with an infringement notice, you can elect to have the matter heard and determined in court.

You can elect to have the matter heard in court any time before an enforcement order is made or before the period for the commencement of proceedings expires (approximately 3 to 6 months after an infringement notice has been issued).

In order to do this, you must complete the ‘Application for action by a court’ section on the infringement notice and forward it to Civic Compliance Victoria or contact Civic Compliance Victoria on (03) 9200 8111.

You should get legal advice if you have received a notice to appear before a court. It is important that you seek legal advice well before your court date.

You may be eligible for legal aid and can apply through most lawyers, Victoria Legal Aid, many Community Legal Centres and the Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative.

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12. What can I do if I, my company, or my business has been incorrectly named?

If the name on an infringement notice issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria is incorrect, please contact Civic Compliance Victoria on (03) 9200 8111.

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13. When can CAV withdraw an infringement notice?

Consumer Affairs Victoria can withdraw an infringement notice on a number of grounds, including, but not limited to:

the infringement notice being incorrectly issued or served
insufficient evidence to establish the offence alleged by the infringement notice
an internal review that results in the infringement notice being withdrawn
an official warning or another enforcement action being a more suitable outcome for the contravention.

Not knowing the law is not an acceptable reason for having an infringement notice reviewed or withdrawn.

If Consumer Affairs Victoria withdraws an infringement notice, the alleged offender will be notified in writing.

Once an infringement notice is withdrawn, Consumer Affairs Victoria may:

take no further action against the alleged offender
issue the alleged offender with an official warning
take enforcement action against the alleged offender.

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14. Will there be a public record of infringement notices that have been issued?

Consumer Affairs Victoria does not publish the names of persons or companies issued with infringement notices. However, Consumer Affairs Victoria does publish the number and type of infringement notices it issues.

Consumer Affairs Victoria adheres to the requirements of the Privacy Act 1998 in respect to the release of information about infringement notices.

Where required, Consumer Affairs Victoria may be compelled to release information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

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15. Who can I contact if I have a question?

General information:
Consumer Affairs Victoria
1300 55 81 81

Payment of infringement notice (including payment plans):
Civic Compliance Victoria
(03) 9200 8111

Legal advice
If you cannot afford independent legal advice contact Victoria Legal Aid or your local Community Legal Centre or the Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative.

Interpreter service: telephone 131 450

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