Paying the court fine

This section covers​:​

​How to pay a court fine

If you have been fined by the court, the magistrate will usually order that you pay the fine within 28 days. You will be sent a Notice of Penalty which tells you the amount you have to pay.

You can pay by:

• credit card over the phone on 1300 679 272
• credit card online on the NSW Online Registry website
• cheque or money order
• EFTPOS at the court

For more information, see Paying fines and judgment amounts on the Local Court of NSW website. 

How to ask for more time to pay

If you would like more time to pay your fine, you need to complete an application for 'Time to Pay a Court Fine'.

You need one form:

• Application for Time to Pay a Court Fine

You can get copies from:

• a Local Court
• the Local Court website.

Sample: Application for Time to Pay a Court Fine

You should give the completed form to the Local Court registry.

An offer to pay instalments of less than $100.00 per fortnight may not be accepted, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If you are receiving a Veterans Affairs Pension, Centrelink Payments or you have a concession card, you can offer to pay less than $100.00 as long as you pay at least $15.00 per fortnight.

When making your instalment payments make sure they are paid on or before the due date. If you do not pay the instalment on time, the court will refer the matter to Revenue NSW and they will start enforcement action against you to collect the outstanding money. They may add an additional fee to the fine. If this happens, you can apply to pay by instalments through Revenue NSW. For more information, see Responding to an overdue fine.

If you are not able to pay a court fine that is being enforced by the Revenue NSW, you may be able to ask the NSW Attorney General to recommend that your fine is remitted. If your fine is remitted, you will not have to pay it. For more information, see Remission of fines and driver licence disqualifications on the Department of Communities and Justice website. 

Payment plan if you are on Centrelink benefits

If you receive a Centrelink benefit, such as a pension or JobSeeker payment, you can apply to have the repayments deducted from your fortnightly benefit through Centrepay.  

To have the fine paid through Centrepay, you need to contact to the Local Court where the fine was issued and complete an application. They will refer the fine to Revenue NSW to set up the payment plan. If you don't do this within 28 days of the court order, additional costs may be added. 

You need one form:

• Payment Plan Application of Court Fines for Customers in Receipt of a Government Payment
  

For a blank copy of the form, see Paying fines and judgement amounts on the Local Court website.

If your application is approved, Revenue NSW will write to you. The deductions from your Centrelink payment will continue until your fine is paid off.

Apply for Work and Development Orders (WDOs) 

You can choose to have your court fine paid off through a Work and Development Order (WDO). 

A WDO involves doing an activity as a way of paying off some or all of the total fines that you owe. A WDO is only available if you:

To have the fine paid off through a WDO, you need to make a request (verbally or in writing) to the Local Court where the fine was issued, within the 28 days of the court order. If you don't do this within 28 days, additional costs may be added. 

Once you make the request, the Local Court will refer the fine to Revenue NSW. You should then contact Revenue NSW. Revenue NSW will determine if you are eligible for a WDO. 

What happens if you don't pay?

If you do not pay your court fine and the court has not agreed for you to pay by instalments or given you an extension of time to pay, your fine will be referred to Revenue NSW. 

Revenue NSW will send you an overdue fine to recover the money from you. They will also add an additional fee to the fine. For more information about what to do when you receive an overdue fine, see Responding to an overdue fine.