Right to Information statistics
The following information relates to debts registered with the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER).
Total value of debt (fines and fees) collected
The following chart shows the total amount of debt (fines and fees) collected each financial year by SPER.
Debts registered with SPER - as at 30 April 2012
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 heard 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 | 1,000,557 | $251.8M |
| Total debts under active enforcement | 419,592 | $122.4M |
| Total debts under deferral | 153,811 | $62.9M |
| Total debts awaiting enforcement | 1,189,706 | $311.6M |
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.
| Debts lodged and debts finalised in month | Number of penalties | Dollar Value |
|---|---|---|
| New debts registered with SPER in month | 94,220 | $28.7M |
| Debts finalised by SPER in month | 56,672 | $17.3M |
New debts registered with SPER in month - This represents the number and value of debts lodged with SPER by courts and administering authorities.
Debts finalised by SPER in month – This represents the number and value of debts that have been resolved and are no longer registered as outstanding on the SPER system.