Street Law Fact Sheet 2 - Disputing liability for a fine

Download and complete the relevant form online. Set out why you do not think that you are responsible for this fine.
Attach evidence (e.g. photos) to support your claim.
If your claim is rejected, you may be able to appeal it, or consider other options for dealing with the fine.

You should only dispute a traffic or parking fine if you believe:

you were not responsible for the infringement, or
there was no infringement.

You should not dispute a fine if you are simply annoyed at receiving it or because you do not have the money to pay.

When might you dispute liability for a fine?

The most common reason for disputing liability for a fine is where someone else was driving your car at the time of the infringement. In those circumstances, either you or the person driving the vehicle at the time will have to complete an “infringement notice declaration”, declaring that the other person was driving your car at the time. The fine will then be re‑issued to the person who was driving.

Disputing evidence

If you have received the fine and you are disputing the evidence, you will probably need to go to the Magistrates Court to sort the matter out.

If the court does not decide in your favour, it may go on your criminal record and you may be fined and have to pay costs.

**The Process**
Parking or traffic camera infringement	If someone else was driving your car at the time of the infringement, download and complete the relevant infringement notice declaration from: https://www.accesscanberra.act. gov.au/app/answers/detail/a_ id/1271#!tabs-3 Completed forms can be submitted to: • Traffic related offences: tco@act.gov.au • Parking related offence: parkingreview@act.gov.au To otherwise dispute liability, complete the online form: https://rego.act.gov.au/ regosoawicket/public/dispute/ DisputeInfringementPage
Traffic infringement issued by police	If someone else was driving your car at the time of the infringement, download and complete the relevant infringement notice declaration from: https://www.police.act.gov.au/ road-safety/traffic-fines#Submit infingement notice Completed forms can be submitted to: infringements@afp.gov.au. To otherwise dispute liability, complete the online form: https://form.act.gov.au/ smartforms/landing. htm?formCode=1131

Disclaimer

The material in this fact sheet is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this publication without first getting legal advice about their particular situations.

If you would like more information, please contact Street Law on 1800 787 529 or info@streetlaw.org.au. Street Law is a program of Canberra Community Law Ltd.