Thousands of COVID fines have been cancelled by the state, resulting in millions of dollars in refunds for residents.

The New South Wales government has announced that they will be taking back the more than 20,000 COVID-19 fines that are still outstanding and will be returning millions of dollars to those who have already paid them. This decision comes after two years when 36,000 of the 62,000 pandemic-era fines were deemed invalid by the Supreme Court due to their vague nature.

Initially, the state government had not given a clear indication about what they planned to do with the remaining penalty notices, but today they have revealed that they will, in fact, be scrapping them. This means that 23,539 fines will be cancelled, but it will not affect any that have already been taken to court. As a result, Revenue NSW will be refunding a total of $5.5 million to those who have partially or fully paid these fines.

The Department of Customer Service has explained that while the remaining fines may have clearer descriptions of the offenses, they could still be considered too vague to be valid. In a statement, they said that after receiving legal advice and taking a closer look at the descriptions on the notices, they have decided to withdraw them. The Commissioner of Fines Administration has determined that these COVID-19-related penalty notices lack sufficient detail and could potentially be considered technically deficient, casting doubt on their validity.

This decision also comes after another Supreme Court ruling in January, which was only made public last month, regarding a $3000 fine issued to a woman for leaving Sydney without a permit. While the court did not declare the fine invalid, they did state that all COVID-19 penalty notices must clearly state the offense they were issued for. This prompted the Redfern Legal Centre, which was involved in both this case and the 2022 ruling, to call for all remaining pandemic fines to be withdrawn.

Revenue NSW will be reaching out to those who are owed a refund and will be providing further updates on the process. For the latest news, sport, politics, and weather, make sure to download the 9News app on your smartphone and stay informed with notifications at your fingertips. The app is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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