South Island courts are planning to run newspaper advertisements with the names and addresses of all people who owe more than $500.  

According to figures quoted in an answer to a written parliamentary question on 28 May, 284,484 motorists owe $123 million in fines.

The law provides for two types of fines. People can be fined by a judge as a penalty for crime, or by the Police, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, or local authorities for small offences like driving without a licence or illegal parking. These are called infringement offences. People are not summoned to court for these but are sent or handed an infringement notice, which sets out the offence and the amount of the fine.

The person has 28 days to pay the fine in full or, if they believe that they should not have to pay it, to explain to the infringement authority (the Police Infringement Bureau or the local authority) why they should not pay. If their explanation is not accepted, a person can ask for the matter to be heard and decided by a District Court Judge. If the person does nothing after 28 days, they will be sent a reminder notice giving them another 28 days to sort the matter out, and if they do not, the fine will be sent to the Department for Courts for collection.

Once the fine is sent to the Department for Courts it is usually too late to challenge it. However, if a person did not receive the infringement or reminder notice, they can fill in a statutory declaration explaining this, and if the explanation is accepted, the notices will be sent again. The person can then submit their explanation to the infringement authority (or a judge).

The Department for Courts adds collection costs of $30 to the fine and sends a "notice of fine", giving the person 28 days to pay the fine or make an arrangement to pay it off. If this is not done, the person usually receives a "final notice of fine", with a further $100 enforcement fee added. The person is warned that if they do not sort it out in 28 days, the courts may take enforcement action.

The Department for Courts has considerable powers to enforce unpaid fines, whether a judge or an infringement authority imposes them. For example, it can issue an attachment order to have the fine taken from a person's salary or welfare benefit. It can issue a deduction notice to have it taken from their bank account, or it can issue a warrant for the person's property to be seized. In the case of a car, the courts can immobilise it instead of seizing it, provided they have a warrant for seizure. A warrant to seize property allows a registrar or bailiff to enter the person's property or home, by force if necessary, and seize any property that they believe to be the property of the person with unpaid fines. If any other person has a claim to seized property, they must notify the court, and a judge will decide what should happen.

Whether a fine is for a criminal offence or an infringement offence, the courts have the power to allow a person extra time to pay it, or make an arrangement for the person to pay it in instalments. These powers are exercised by the court registrar. Any person who believes that a registrar's decision is unfair can ask a judge to review that decision. For example, a court may have a policy of requiring people to pay 10% of any unpaid fine up front, before it will agree to an instalment arrangement. Those who cannot afford to meet these demands can ask that a judge review the policy. The registrar's decision to take enforcement action can also be reviewed by a judge.

Fines defaulters are eventually caught and usually given an alternative sentence. Sometimes they are arrested. The plan by South Island courts to run newspaper advertisements increases the risk of getting caught and of being publicly humiliated.

If you have an outstanding fine and want to pay it, there are several options.
Contact the Department for Courts, Collection Unit
Phone the Department for Courts, Collections Unit 0800 609 669
Email FinesEnquiry@courts.govt.nz
Go in or phone your nearest District Court

For further information on fines, including a check to see it you have one, visit Fines On-Line