Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered Acts(1) If the Magistrates' Court is satisfied of a matter specified under subsection (2) on an infringement offender being brought before the Magistrates' Court in respect of any outstanding registered infringement fines under an enforcement warrant, the Magistrates' Court may make an order—
(a) discharging in full any registered infringement fines; or
(b) discharging in part any registered infringement fines; or
(c) discharging in part any registered infringement fines and order that the infringement offender be imprisoned for a period of one day in respect of each penalty unit, or part of a penalty unit, to which the undischarged amount of the registered infringement fines under the enforcement warrant is an equivalent amount; or
(d) make a fine default unpaid community work order under Division 5 of Part 3B of the Sentencing Act 1991 ; or
(e) adjourn the further hearing of the matter for a period of up to 6 months.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the specified matters are—
(a) that an infringement offender has a mental or intellectual impairment, disorder, disease or illness; or
(b) without limiting paragraph (a), that special circumstances apply to an infringement offender; or
(c) that having regard to an infringement offender's situation, imprisonment would be excessive, disproportionate or unduly harsh.
(3) If the Magistrates' Court is not satisfied of a matter specified under subsection (2), the Magistrates' Court may order that the infringement offender be imprisoned for a period of one day in respect of each penalty unit, or part of a penalty unit, to which the amount of the outstanding registered infringement fines under the enforcement warrant is an equivalent amount.
(4) If the Magistrates' Court makes an order under subsection (1)(b) discharging in part any registered infringement fines, the Magistrates' Court, in respect of any undischarged registered infringement fines, may make—
(a) a time to pay order; or
(b) an instalment order.
(5) If the Magistrates' Court makes an order under subsection (1)(c) or (3) for imprisonment in default of payment of any outstanding registered infringement fines—
(a) a warrant to imprison may be issued under section 68 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 ; and
(b) the Magistrates' Court may make an instalment order in respect of the payment of any outstanding registered infringement fines.
Note
A warrant to imprison issued under subsection (5)(a) may be executed on the contravention of an instalment order made under subsection (5)(b).
(6) If the Magistrates' Court makes an order under subsection (1)(b) or (4) and the infringement offender contravenes the order by failing to pay the undischarged amount of the registered infringement fines in accordance with the order, the Magistrates' Court may issue a warrant to arrest the infringement offender under section 61 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 .
(7) If an infringement offender is brought before the Magistrates' Court on the execution of a warrant to arrest issued under subsection (6), the Magistrates' Court may—
(a) confirm any order originally made under subsection (1)(b) or (4); or
(b) cancel any order originally made under subsection (1)(b) or (4) and deal with the infringement offender as if the infringement offender had just been brought before the Magistrates' Court under subsection (1).
(8) The Magistrates' Court, in determining how to deal with an infringement offender under subsection (7), must take into account the extent to which the infringement offender has complied with an order made under subsection (1)(b) or (4).