Hey
Whilst travelling Australia in 2005 i incurred a few driving fines, parking and not wearing a seat belt which i didn´t pay, does anyone know what is the procedure on entering australia again with unpaid fines.
it was all in new south wales (Sydney) if that makes a difference
How long do the fines stay on record for,
Thanks
Reply to this Hello Elliot 😊
I moved this to the Oceania forum.
Mel
Reply to this Parking fines don't matter because they are local government, but you should contact either immigration or the NSW police regarding traffic offenses. A mate of mine had to delay his return to Australia because there was a note attached to his passport number regarding an unpaid speeding fine. It got sorted out after about a week.
Reply to this thanks for your reply, what if you got a new passport to change your number would that work??
did your friend apply for his visa beforehand and they said he had unpaid fines which he then payed
i wonder if after so many years the fines get taken off the system i got mine in 2005 so 4 years ago,
Thanks
Reply to this Found this on a site relating to South Australia, would expect the states to be fairly similar;
Demerit points apply from the date the offence was committed and not from the date of the conviction or the payment of the expiation notice. Three years after an offence is committed the demerit points are erased.
Reply to this Does demirit points mean in the categry of parking fines and traffic offences i was pulled over by the new south wales police so i wondered how long that stays on record ? or if changing your passport will help as mine probley has a note attached as unpaid traffic offence........
Reply to this Yes, that's what 'demerit points' was referring to. But, as Peter mentioned, parking fines are a local issue - I don't think they attract demerit points.
Unpaid ones won't get wiped.
I wouldn't rely on changing your passport to get around this. Systems are pretty well connected these days. Just not worth the hassles of not being able to enter a country. I would contact both NSW police and immigration to check. Maybe print out emails you get back and take them with you to show what you've done to rectify the situation.
Reply to this Oh, what I forgot to mention...
The reason my mate had a note attached to his passport was that a court summons had been delivered to his address for his unpaid speeding fines and his brother had accepted it on his behalf. His brother then died, which complicated matters. Because my mate then didn't turn up in court, he was in violation of the criminal code, which is more serious.
Only a court can make you pay a fine, and if you haven't received a summons, then you haven't had the opportunity to have your day in court. That's not to say that they won't prepare a summons for you on arrival, but so far you have only missed payments on fines. It's only after you haven't turned up in court that a warrent can be issued (contempt of court) for your arrest. Sorry for misleading you above.
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