Immobilisation warrants

From 1 January 2010, if you receive an Enforcement Order for unpaid fines, SPER may issue a warrant authorising the wheel clamping of your vehicles including cars, motorbikes, trailers or caravans. This warrant is called an Immobilisation Warrant.

SPER will give the Immobilisation Warrant to an officer authorised to act on behalf of SPER. This officer is called an Enforcement Officer. An Immobilisation Warrant authorises an enforcement officer to attach a wheel clamp to any vehicle registered in your name without your consent.

When assessing whether an immobilisation warrant is appropriate for a debtor, SPER will allow the applicant to provide proof of hardship. View the Hardship Guidelines below.

View the most frequently asked questions on Immobilisation Warrants.

Hardship Guidelines for consideration

When assessing whether an immobilisation warrant is appropriate for a debtor, SPER will allow the applicant to provide proof of hardship. Only once the applicant has established this proof will SPER take hardship into consideration.

Proof of hardship can be applied for by anyone who uses the vehicle (e.g. family member, employee), in addition to the debtor.

The applicant must provide proof of the hardship (e.g. by means of an employment contract or medical documentation).

Hardship may be taken into consideration where:

• immobilisation would leave the debtor or a debtor's family member without a means of transport to get to work and they are unable to get to work by any other means (e.g. public transport)
• a debtor's employee has full personal use of the vehicle under an employment contract with the debtor, and the debtor relies on the vehicle in the ordinary course of their employment 
• immobilisation would impact adversely on the debtor's family or carer responsibilities e.g. the debtor would not have reasonable access to any other means of transport to get children to and from school, to seek regular medical treatment, the debtor or the debtor's family member has a disability, etc 
• the debtor is homeless or at risk of homelessness 
• the debtor or the debtor's spouse is pregnant.