How to Appeal
If you commit a minor offence in Victoria you have a right under the Infringements Act 2006 to apply to a review in certain situations. The legislation provides you with the opportunity to apply to the agency that issued the notice for an internal review, where you believe you have grounds for an appeal.
Accepted Grounds for Appeal
The grounds are described in the legislation and fall within four categories.
You may appeal on this ground when there is a defect or mistake made in the decision to serve the notice. Specifically;
•The officer who issued the Infringement Notice (ticket) did not act appropriately,
•The information on the Infringement Notice is incorrect.
You may appeal on this ground when there is a defect or mistake made in the decision to serve the notice because you believe that you were not the person that broke the law. Specifically;
•You were not the driver or in control of the vehicle/trailer at the time of the offence and you are able to provide details of the person who was in control of the vehicle/trailer,
•You were not the driver or in control of the vehicle/trailer at the time of the offence and you are NOT able to provide details of the person who was in control of the vehicle/trailer,
•Your vehicle/trailer was stolen at the time of the offence,
•You have sold the vehicle/trailer at the time of the offence. You need to include the details of the person that you sold the vehicle/trailer to,
•Other mistake of Identity.
You may appeal on this ground when you have a specific condition which makes it difficult to control what happens. Specifically;
•You have a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness,
•You have a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance and you are receiving ongoing treatment or counselling,
•You are homeless and have inadequate access to safe and secure housing or are living in crisis accommodation under Supported Accommodation Assistance scheme or are a victim of domestic violence.
You may appeal on this ground when a person has enough awareness and self control to be liable for their conduct but has a good excuse (i.e. an exceptional circumstance) for the behaviour that gave rise to the infringement. Specifically;
•You did not know that the conduct was an offence,
•You had unforeseen or unpreventable circumstances that resulted in not being able to prevent the offending conduct,
•You are elderly and your age, frailty, poor health or vulnerability is relevant.
You may appeal on this ground when you were not aware you had received an infringement and were only made aware after receiving further correspondence relating to the infringement.
•Your appeal must be made within 14 days of you becoming aware of the infringement notice (You may evidence the date that you became aware of the infringement notice by executing a statutory declaration),
• state the grounds on which the decision should be reviewed.
Unacceptable Grounds for an Appeal
Some of these descriptions allow for discretion on the part of the agency that issued the infringement. This means that the same offence in two different locations may elicit a different response from the issuing agency.
Reasons NOT accepted by some agencies;
- you didn't notice a sign. e.g. you couldn't read it from the front seat of your car or the weather was bad and this reduced your visibility
- you didn’t notice that a sign or restriction had changed.
- you were concentrating on other things and forgot to read the sign
- you left your car to get change
- you were running late or were in a hurry
- you read only part of a multi-panel sign
- you got delayed at an appointment
- stopping for a short time in a prohibited area (e.g. No Stopping) even if it just to pick up or drop off passengers or goods.
- you were unfamiliar with the restrictions because you were new to the area. e.g. you were from another town in Victoria, Australia or even from overseas.
The agency that issued your infringement may use discretion differently to another agency. e.g. a first offence may be treated differently to a repeat offence, etc.
For this reason, these descriptions are intended as a guide only.
Starting the Process
You can begin the Internal Review process by submitting an Internal Review statement available on this website. You can find the Internal Review statement along with other frequently used statements at the top of this page.
We strongly recommend you read the both the accepted and unacceptable grounds for appeal before lodging your statement.
Application by post
If your decision is to not use our online Internal Review application, you can request a review of your infringement by writing to the agency that issued the notice with:-
1. Full details of the infringement
2. The address you want correspondence to be sent to
3. The grounds for your appeal. Note:- the grounds for your appeal must match one of the four categories set out in the legislation.
4. Evidence to support your grounds for a review. Sample details of the evidence required is provided in the table - Grounds for an Appeal Note:- it is important that you provide as much information as possible because you cannot lodge multiple appeals for the one infringement – the law allows only one appeal.
5. You will also need to advise if you are not the person named on the infringement notice and your relationship to that person, plus
6. If the person named in the Infringement Notice was 18 years old or under at the time of the offence, that person’s date of birth.
You can find our postal address by visiting the Contact Us link at the top of this page.
If you lodge a request for an internal review, please do not pay the infringement until you have been advised of the outcome.
You can elect to have the matter heard in open court
If you choose to take the matter to open court rather than use the internal review process, the internal review process will stop.
Time Frames
Most agencies request that you lodge your appeal within 28 days of the date of your letter. While a request for review has been lodged, other actions in relation to your infringement Notice will be suspended.
Additional Information
A request for additional information should be responded to within 14 days of the date you receive the letter. This activity will increase the overall time frame by 21 days. You should contact BTA Infringements if you are having difficulty in obtaining information. Where information has not been provided within the specified timeframe, the process will continue using the information at hand.
Final Response
You should receive a decision within 90 days of your letter requesting an internal review or, 90 days + 21 days where additional information has been requested. If you do not receive a reply within the time frame, the infringement may be withdrawn.
The review process is terminated if
- the person elects to have the matter heard in Court or,
- in the case of an infringement notice served on a child, heard and determined in the Children's Court.
You have to nominate which of the grounds applies to you.
You cannot simply request a review because you think the infringement is ‘unfair’. You must fit the reasons that you think the decision is unfair into a category and then explain why you believe this. You must then support your belief with evidence. If two of the above reasons apply, then you should provide evidence for both or, at the very least, provide evidence for one and indicate that the other category is also a possibility.
Supporting Your Request - Evidence
Depending on your grounds for appeal, you will need to provide specific documentation to prove your circumstances. The evidence required for each category is detailed in the table - Grounds for an Appeal If you do not provide adequate information, you may be requested to provide more. If you fail to respond to a request for information within 14 days, a decision will be made on the evidence that you have provided to date. The reviewing officer will consider your submission within the scope of the legislation and use discretion where the legislation allows this to occur.
Requests for Additional Information
The grounds for appeal require adequate documentation. If you do not provide the right information, you may be requested to submit specific details to prove your claim.
If you fail to respond to a request for additional information in the timeframe indicated
a decision will be made on the evidence that you have provided to date. You are also required to respond within the timeframe as once a decision is reached, you will not be able to request an additional review.
Notification of the Decision
The final decision will be sent to you in writing. The decision will be one of these actions:
- confirm the decision to serve an infringement notice;
- withdraw the infringement notice and serve an official warning in place of the infringement notice;
- withdraw the infringement notice;
- in the case of an infringement notice served on a child, withdraw the infringement notice and file a charge and summons in the Children's Court for the matter to be dealt within that court.
- in the case of an infringement offence involving additional steps, alter or vary those steps provided the alteration or variation is consistent with the Act or other instrument establishing the offence;
- waive all or any prescribed costs;
- approve a payment plan;
- do any combination of any of the actions referred to in the above paragraphs (1) to (7).
Arranging Payment After a Decision
You letter will include full details of any payments to be made and the new due date for these payments.