Apply to go to court for a fine
If you would like to dispute your fine in court, you can apply through Revenue NSW to have the matter determined by a magistrate in the NSW Local Court.
Get free help
There are free legal and financial services available to help you with advice. You can contact LawAccess NSW, a free service, before starting the court process on 1300 888 529 or click the 'chat with us' button from their Legal Aid website. While you are on the website, try their Guided Pathways tool or explore other resources.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can also get free advice about fines from the Aboriginal Legal Services (NSW/ACT) by calling 1800 765 767 (option 3).
Do you need to go to court?
If you would like to dispute your fine in court, you can apply through Revenue NSW to have the matter determined by a magistrate in the NSW Local Court.
Going to court can be a long and costly process.
The court plays no role in demerit points.
For some traffic offences, you could get a criminal conviction.
The court may issue you a fine at a higher amount.
You may have to pay court costs. These costs are set by legislation and not the court.
You may also have to pay a victim support levy which is also set by legislation.
For some traffic offences, you may face a licence disqualification.
It's important to to think about court election carefully as once your court election is accepted, you cannot change your mind.
Before you elect to go to court, you can get free legal help from LawAccess NSW, call 1300 888 529 or 'click to chat' from their Legal Aid website.
Are you disputing a licence suspension?
If you've had your driver licence suspended by NSW Police or receive a letter from Transport for NSW saying you have lost your licence due to excess demerit points, you may be eligible to appeal the suspension directly with the Local Court or to apply for a good behaviour period for your licence.
This is not the same as having your fine heard in court.
Difficulty paying your fine
If you're having difficulty paying your fine, there are many options available to help you, including:
You can request a review of your fine if there were special circumstances that led to the offence being committed. We recommend requesting a review to see if leniency will be applied, before applying to go to court.
If someone else was responsible for the offence, you can nominate the person responsible and have the fine transferred to them.
You can set up a payment plan to pay your fine over a longer period of time. Payments can be direct debited out of your bank account or taken out of your Centrelink payments, if you're receiving them.
You may be eligible to reduce your fine by up to $1,000 a month by doing unpaid work, courses, counselling, mentoring or treatment programs. Apply for a Work and Development Order
You may be eligible to have your fine reduced or written-off. Fine write-offs are available for overdue fines only, if eligibility criteria is met.
If you apply before your fine is due
If you decide you would like to have your matter heard in court, you will need to apply before the due date on your fine reminder notice. If you’ve already paid your fine, you’ll have 90 days from the date the fine was issued to go to court.
If you apply when your fine is overdue
If you don’t apply by the fine reminder due date, you will need to prove that you were prevented from paying or managing your fine before the due date – this is called hindrance. You will need to supply supporting evidence, such as medical or travel documents.
You application will be delayed if your hindrance reason is not provided.
You will also need to show that, once the circumstances preventing you from paying were resolved, you then took action to manage your fine within a reasonable time frame.
We will assess your application
This process may take up to six weeks. Your fine will be placed on hold while your application is being assessed.
If your application is refused
You will be advised of your options in writing.
If your application is approved
Once we process your successful application, we will:
refund any fine amount already paid and/or reverse any demerit points applied to your driver licence
set a court date and send you a Court Attendance Notice (CAN).
The court process
Once your application to go to court is approved, the following steps will take place:
We will send you a Court Attendance Notice (CAN)
The CAN tells you the place, time and date of the mention which will be at the court closest to where the offence was committed.
If this is not convenient, you can apply to the court listed on your notice to have the venue changed to another location, prior to the mention date.
You can contact the court by email or phone or visit the Local Court NSW website for the list of locations. There is no guarantee the court will grant your request.
You'll need to enter a plea either in person or in writing
You will be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. You can either do this in person on the day of your mention or by sending a Written Notice of Pleading document to the court before your mention. A Written Notice of Pleading is only required if you are not attending court in person. A copy of this document will be attached to your CAN.
If you’re not sure what to do, we suggest you contact LawAccess NSW. There are free and confidential legal and financial services available to help you.
If you plead guilty
If you choose to plead guilty, your case will usually be held on the same day. You will have the opportunity to explain what happened and give the court any additional information you want them to consider.
If you plead not guilty
If you choose to plead not guilty, you will be given a hearing date.
- You'll need to present your case at the hearing.
You can pay for a lawyer to represent you in court, or you can represent yourself
- The authority that issued your fine will present their case too and may call on witnesses and produce other evidence.
- You’ll need to bring your legal representative (if you have one) and your witnesses or sworn statements from witnesses on the day of the hearing.
Local Court NSW has more information about the process to go to court for a penalty notice
The court will make a decision
The court will decide your case in one of three ways:
| Decision | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Guilty | If the court finds you guilty, you will have to pay a penalty set by the court. You will also have to pay your court costs and you may have to pay the prosecutor’s court costs. Any applicable demerit points will be applied. If you have any questions relating to demerit points or your driving record contact Transport for NSW. |
| Guilty, no conviction recorded | The court may find you guilty but will not make you pay a penalty. You will have to pay court costs and may also have to pay the prosecutors’ professional costs. The offence will appear on your driving record but demerit points won’t be applied. |
| Not guilty | You will not have to pay a fine, court costs and no demerit points will be applied. |
Other ways to apply
You can download and complete a form for an individual (PDF 574.62KB) or organisation (PDF 628.6KB) or put a request in writing and send it to:
Revenue NSW
PO Box 786
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
If you make a request in writing, you must include your full name, date of birth, fine reference number, your residential address and any hindrance documents if required.
Fines issued to companies
Apply to go to court for a fine issued to a company
If you have a fine for failure to vote
You can have your overdue fine for failure to vote reviewed if you:
did actually vote
haven’t received any previous fine notices from the NSW Electoral Commission
legitimately could not vote.
Request a review for a failure to vote fine or call 1300 655 805
If you have a fine for failure to appear for jury service
You can have your fine for failure to appear for jury service reviewed if you:
did attend jury service
did not receive previous notices from the NSW Sheriff’s Office
had a legitimate reason for not attending jury service.
Request a review for a jury service fine or call 1300 655 805
First Nations support services
Did you know we provide culturally safe services to support First Nations Peoples to get back on track with debt? Our First Nations team is available on 1800 002 345
Contact us
Got a question or need help?
Call Revenue NSW Monday to Friday between 7am to 7pm:
- Fines: 1300 138 118 or +61 2 7808 6940
- Overdue fines: 1300 655 805, 1300 001 525 or +61 2 7808 6941
Or log in to the relevant online portal:
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