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ROAD TRANSPORT (OFFENCES) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2003 (NO 2) (NO 42 OF 2003)
2003
THE LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
ROAD TRANSPORT (OFFENCES)
AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2003 (No
2)
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Circulated by authority
of
Bill Wood MLA
Minister for Urban
Services
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
ROAD TRANSPORT
(OFFENCES) AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2003 (No
2)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The Road Transport (Offences) Regulations (the regulations) set out the
penalty payable by a person to whom an infringement notice is issued for an
offence under the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (the Act). The Act
and the regulations replace provisions of the, now repealed, Motor Traffic
Act 1936 and the Motor Traffic Regulations.
The penalty provisions
for ACT regulatory offences generally set a higher maximum penalty where the
offender is a corporation. The “standard” approach is to provide
for a maximum penalty for a corporation, five times the penalty for the same
offence where committed by an individual. The policy rationale for this
approach is that the financial resources of corporations are such that a higher
penalty is necessary to achieve the requisite degree of punitive impact.
The corporate multiplier also provides an incentive for corporations to
identify the driver responsible for the offence, thereby allowing the correct
allocation of demerit points following camera detected offences.
Under
the Motor Traffic Act and Motor Traffic Regulations, infringement penalties for
traffic offences were, for corporate offenders, five times the amount of the
penalty for an individual offender, unless the corporation nominated the driver
responsible for the offence.
However, when that legislation was repealed
and replaced with the new Act and regulations in March 2000, the penalty
provisions for traffic offences did not correctly provide for different levels
of penalty to be imposed on corporations and individuals where the offence was
dealt with by an infringement notice.
The purpose of this amendment is
to reinstate the corporate level of penalties for camera detected infringement
notices.
This clause names the amendment Regulations.
This clause provides for the commencement date to be set by notification, in
line with normal practice.
Specifies that the Road Transport (Offences) Regulations 2001 are the
regulations being amended.
This amendment includes a new provision to provide that the penalty payable
by a corporation for a camera-detected offence is 5 times the amount applying to
an individual.