Payment plans are being exploited to get out of paying infringements notices in Hume, forcing the council to write off thousands of dollars in unpaid fines.
According to council documents, in 2014, 1519 payment plans were offered to people who received fines.
Only 1359 people paid one or more instalments, with 37 per cent, or about 562 people, defaulting on their fines. The statistics reveal that just 52 per cent of fines were actually paid in full, prompting the council to change its regulations.
The council’s infringement management policy stipulated that all fines must be paid by the due date written on the notice. They could be paid by instalments or by negotiating an extension of the due date from the time the fine was first issued.
Payment plans were available to anyone on application, as well as to anyone with a Centrelink health care card, pensioner concession card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs concession card.
But in a report, council services manager Danny Eaton said: “It would appear that some offenders who apply for payment plans are effectively trying to avoid payment of the original infringement by extending the time available for the payment to occur or by reducing the amount able to be paid and then not paying at all.”
He said another avoidance used by some residents was transferring a fine to company names despite having the means to pay themselves.
At a recent meeting, councillors voted to change the infringement management policy to exclude companies from payment plans and to only offer such plans to people able to prove financial hardship.
People suffering extreme financial hardship will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
But they will still be required to pay the fine in full within two years.
