New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FINES ACT 1996 - SECT 72

72 Order to seize property of fine defaulter

(1) The Commissioner may make an order for the seizure of the property of a fine defaulter for the purpose of levying the fine payable by the fine defaulter on that property. The order is called a
"property seizure order" .

Note--: The Interpretation Act 1987 defines property to include land as well as personal property.

(2) The Commissioner may make a property seizure order only if satisfied that enforcement action is authorised against the fine defaulter under this Division.

(3) The order may be made in the absence of, and without notice to, the fine defaulter.

(4) The order is to be directed to the Sheriff, and provided to the Sheriff by the Commissioner for execution.

(6) A property seizure order operates as a writ for the levy of property issued by the Local Court under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 and, for that purpose, the Commissioner is taken to be the judgment creditor.

(7) If the Sheriff is required to execute a property seizure order and a writ of execution issued by a court or to execute more than one property seizure order, the priority to be accorded to their execution is as follows--

(a) a property seizure order is to be executed before a writ of execution (even if the writ was issued before the order),

(b) property seizure orders are to be executed in the order in which they were received by the Sheriff (unless the Sheriff is directed by the Commissioner to execute them in a different order).

(8) The Sheriff is to return a property seizure order to the Commissioner if the order has not been executed within 12 months after it was made or if the Sheriff is satisfied that the order is not capable of execution. The Commissioner is to cancel an order so returned, but nothing in this subsection prevents the issue of a further order in the matter.

(9) The Sheriff or other person executing a property seizure order is to cease executing the order if the order is cancelled under section 77.