New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FINES ACT 1996 - SECT 126A

126A Penalty notices and penalty reminder notices sent to recently reported postal address and returned to sender

(1) Despite sections 25 and 26, a penalty reminder notice may be served on a person even if the penalty notice to which it relates was returned as being undelivered to its sender after being sent to the person at the person's recently reported postal address, unless the appropriate officer concerned has received some other evidence that the penalty notice was not issued to the person.

(2) Despite section 42 (1), a penalty notice enforcement order may be made in relation to an offence even if the penalty notice or a penalty reminder notice (or both) in relation to the offence was returned as being undelivered to its sender after being sent to the person at the person's recently reported postal address, unless the Commissioner has received some other evidence that the penalty notice was not issued to the person.

(3) In this section--

"Australian driver licence" has the same meaning as in the Road Transport Act 2013 .

"fines application" means the following--

(a) an application for a review of a decision to issue a penalty notice under section 24A,

(b) an application for a work and development order,

(c) an application for a time to pay order,

(d) an election under section 23A or 36 to have a matter dealt with by a court.

"NEVDIS" means the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System kept by Austroads.

"recently reported postal address" , in relation to a penalty notice or penalty reminder notice sent to a person, means--

(a) the latest postal address given by the person--

(i) to the appropriate officer, under a legal obligation, when the offence was alleged to have been committed, or

(ii) in connection with a fines application, or

(b) a postal address of the person as shown in the records of Transport for NSW or NEVDIS in relation to a current Australian driver licence or vehicle registration in Australia if--

(i) the postal address was not given by the person under paragraph (a), or

(ii) the postal address of the person shown in the records has been updated since the postal address was given under paragraph (a).

"registration in Australia" has the same meaning as in the Road Transport Act 2013 , section 7(2).

Before any enforcement action can be taken in relation to a penalty notice, notice of the relevant penalty notice enforcement order must be served on the person concerned: see sections 59, 65 and 71. The Commissioner may withdraw a penalty notice enforcement order if satisfied that the person concerned was not aware that a penalty notice had been issued until the enforcement order was served on the person: see section 47.