Great end to year for Government’s fine collection agency
The Queensland Government’s debt collection agency, the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER), closed the year with another big month collecting more than $16.8 million in December.
This comes on the back of a recording breaking $19.8 million collected in November which included $1.2 million paid by two shipping companies fined in 2011 by a court for an oil spill off Moreton and Bribie Islands and some Sunshine Coast beaches in March 2009.
SPER’s financial year-to-date collections now stands at $99.69 million and means that since commencing in 2000 SPER has now collected over $1.144 billion.
SPER was established to collect and enforce unpaid court ordered fines and infringement notices on behalf of authorities including government agencies, councils, universities and health authorities.
SPER does not issue fines but acts as the collection agency for unpaid fines issued by these authorities.
More information about SPER’s collection rate can be found at www.sper.qld.gov.au
Anyone with unpaid fines should contact SPER on 1300 365 635 to arrange payment or discuss payment options.
Debts registered with SPER - as at 31 December 2011
Debts registered with SPER relate to:
- Infringement notices for offences such as parking, speeding or failing to register a dog. Infringement notices are issued by a range of agencies (known as administering authorities) such as local governments (councils), state government departments, hospitals and universities
- Court orders (orders made in a Supreme, District or Magistrates Court) for more serious offences such as assault or drink driving. These orders can include fines, compensation, restitution, fees, and costs
- Offender debt recovery orders relating to assistance provided to a victim of crime and an order has been made against the offender to recover that assistance.
Debts registered with SPER will fall within one of the following four categories depending on the status of the debt at any one time.
| Category | Number of penalties | Dollar Value |
|---|---|---|
| Total debts under active compliance | 927,290 | $234.2M |
| Total debts under active enforcement | 613,000 | $175.5M |
| Total debts under deferral | 80,335 | $40.8M |
| Total debts awaiting enforcement | 1,038,238 | $265.8M |
Total debts under active compliance - This represents the number and value of debts that are under a compliance arrangement to finalise the amount owing (for example, a payment arrangement, unpaid community service, or within the time to pay period).
Total debts under active enforcement - This represents the number and value of debts that SPER has taken enforcement action on as a result of them being overdue and not in compliance (enforcement action can include suspending a driver licence, garnisheeing money from a bank account or wages, or issuing a warrant of arrest and imprisonment).
Total debts under deferral – This represents the number and value of debts that are deferred from any further action being taken by SPER. This includes debts with reminder notices and the time period has not passed, debts under dispute (for example, disputes that have been raised with the court or the agency that issued the penalty) and debts deferred for people who are affected by natural disasters.
Total debts awaiting enforcement – This represents the number and value of debts that are pending enforcement (e.g. queued for Driver Licence Suspension) or where SPER is investigating to obtain additional information before further enforcement action can be taken.