The Time Served Scheme
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If you are serving a prison sentence, you can apply for your fines that are registered with Fines Victoria or court fines that are registered with Fines Victoria to be converted to run concurrently with your existing sentence under the Time Served Scheme. In some circumstances you can also apply within six months of your release from prison. The scheme is intended to allow you to leave prison debt-free. It is sometimes also referred to as ‘calling in fines’, ‘rolling over fines’ or the ‘Prison Program’.
Fines will be resolved through the Time Served Scheme at the rate of one pu (see ‘A note about penalty units’ at the start of this book) per day in prison. The amount waived cannot exceed the equivalent of 24 months in custody (which equals about $144 000 in fines). Fees and charges added to fines can also be waived through the Time Served Scheme. Applications to the Time Served Scheme must be made in writing. Note that, as there is a small risk of further time in prison, you should seek legal advice before applying to this scheme.
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If you are in prison and have been sentenced, you must apply to the Time Served Scheme while you are in prison. You should be provided with a Request to Call in Your Fines form when you enter the prison system. The form asks you to fill in your details and return the sheet to the Prison Program to apply for the scheme.
116 Section 3: Fines, infringements and criminal law
If you have been released from prison because:
the charges against you were withdrawn; or
you were only sentenced to time served (i.e. time served on remand); or
the charges against you have been determined and you were not sentenced to a term of imprisonment,
then you have six months from the date you were released from custody to apply to the Time Served Scheme. You can apply online (www.online.fines.vic.gov.au/Support/prison-program).
Court fines issued by the Supreme Court cannot be dealt with through the Time Served Scheme.
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Once you have applied to the Time Served Scheme, the Director of Fines Victoria must determine whether they can administratively waive your fines or whether they must apply to a court to have your fines converted into prison time.
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The Director of Fines Victoria must apply to the relevant court seeking an order that fines be waived if the person:
is only in custody because of a fine-related sentence; or
has not spent enough time in custody on a non-fine related sentence to work off their fine debt (including time on remand) (this is based on a calculation of one pu per day in prison); this is referred to as having an ‘excess’.
When calculating a fine debt to determine if there is an excess, the fine debt does not include any additional fees that have been added (e.g. administrative fees added by Fines Victoria).
The Director of Fines Victoria must apply to the relevant court (e.g. they must apply to the Magistrates’ Court if the fines were imposed by the Magistrates’ Court, and to the County Court if the fines were imposed by the County Court).
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If the Director of Fines Victoria is not required to apply to a court (see above), then they must administratively waive the fines.
Fines Victoria must not waive any infringement fine that was incurred while you were in custody.
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A court can make a ‘time served order’ that waives a person’s fines debt at a rate equivalent to how much time they have spent in custody for a non-fine related sentence. The time served order can include time spent on remand and time spent in prison after the person was sentenced. A time served order must be served concurrently with any non-fine related sentence. Any remaining fine debt will be dealt with by the court under section 171C of the FR Act.
A court can make a range of orders in relation to an excess or where the person is only serving a fine-related sentence depending on the person’s circumstances; these orders include:
fully or partially discharging an infringement or court fine;
a time to pay order;
an order for the person to pay in instalments;
an unpaid community work order;
an order adjourning the hearing or further hearing for up to six months; and
an order for imprisonment.
The FR Act prevents a court from making an order for additional time in prison if the court is satisfied that:
another order is appropriate in the circumstances;
the person did not have capacity to pay the fine; or
the person had another reasonable excuse for not paying the fine.
If the matter relates to unpaid court fines at the warrant to arrest stage, the process and Magistrates’ Court options are slightly different (see ‘Dealing with court fines’ above).
The Time Served Scheme
Chapter: 3.1: Fines and infringements
Contributor: Shifrah Blustein, Managing Lawyer, Inner Melbourne Community Legal; Hannah Lewis, Manager Homeless Law, Justice Connect; and Candice Parr, Deputy Managing Lawyer Economic and Social Rights, Victoria Legal Aid
Current as of: 20 September 2024
Law Handbook Page: 115
Next Section: Fines and people who do not have Australian citizenship
