From ​April 2013, Revenue NSW may send private debt collection companies to visit th​e homes of some people who have unpaid overdue fines.​  If you re​​​ceive a visit from a debt collector, you should get legal advice.

Pay the fine in full

If you have received an overdue fine and you want to pay it in full, you can pay:

• online (by credit card)
• by phone  (by credit card)
• in person at Australia Post
• by BPAY
• by mail

For more information, go to the Revenue NSW website.

Apply to pay by instalments

If you have received an overdue fine and you want to pay by instalments, you can apply by:

• phone, or
• in writing.

To apply by phone, you should contact Revenue NSW on 1300 655 805. There are some limits to applying by phone. For example, you cannot apply to pay by instalments by phone if:

• the amount you owe is more than $10 000.00
• Revenue NSW has already started enforcement action against you, such as taking money from (garnishing) your wages or taking (seizing) your property
• you had an instalment agreement with Revenue NSW in the past and you did not make your payments on time.

If you can't apply by phone, you can apply in writing by completing a Payment by Instalments form.

You can get blank Payment by Instalments forms from the Revenue NSW website.

Sample:  Sample Payment by Instalments - Individuals (206 kb) or text only version.

Sample: Sample Payment by Instalments - Companies (179 kb) or text only version.

Before making an application to pay by instalments it is a good idea to get some help working out what instalments you can afford. For help with this, talk to a financial counsellor. For referral to a free financial counsellor in your area, go to the Financial Counsellors' Association of NSW.

If you are already paying other fines off by instalment and you get a new fine, you can add the new fine to the existing payment arrangement. You should contact Revenue NSW if you want to do this.

​If Revenue NSW refuses your application to pay by instalments you can appeal this decision to the Hardship Review Board. Before you make this appeal you should get legal advice.

If Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has suspended your licence or cancelled your vehicle registration, you may be able to have these restrictions lifted after you have made arrangements to pay the fine by instalments. For more information, see Consequences of an overdue fine.

Apply for an annulment (to cancel the overdue fine)

If you have received an overdue fine, but you would like to have your matter heard in court, it is possible to apply to annul (cancel) the overdue fine.

There is no time limit on making an annulment application, however, you should make your application as soon as you can. Any delay in applying can affect your chances of the application being accepted.

You need to apply online through the Revenue NSW website. You will first be prompted to complete an online questionnaire. At the end of the questionnaire you will be informed if you are eligible to apply and what documents you need to submit. If you are eligible to apply, you will then be able to complete the annulment application online.

After completing the online questionnaire, if you are informed that you are not eligible to apply for an annulment you should get legal advice as soon as possible.

If you do not have access to a computer or to the internet, you should contact Revenue NSW and ask them to send you an annulment application form.

The fee for making an annulment application is $50.00 (as at July 2015) for each overdue fine. If you are experiencing financial hardship and you can't afford to pay the fee, you can ask Revenue NSW to 'waive' the application fee (which means you don't have to pay it). You do not have to pay the fee to complete the online questionnaire. The fee will become payable when you send your annulment application and any supporting evidence to Revenue NSW.

Revenue NSW must annul the overdue fine if:

• you did not find out about the penalty notice until after the overdue fine was issued
• you were stopped from responding to the penalty notice because of accident, illness or some other reason
• the penalty notice and the penalty reminder notice were both returned to Revenue NSW as undeliverable.

Revenue NSW may annul an overdue fine if:

• Revenue NSW is satisfied there is some doubt you committed the offence, but only if you did not have a chance to request a review before the overdue fine was issued
• Revenue NSW is satisfied there is another good reason for annulling the overdue fine.

If your application is successful, your case will be listed at the Local Court that is closest to where the offence happened.

If you received a criminal infringement notice (CIN) and your application is successful, your fine may be listed in a local court where it will be heard as if you were charged with the criminal offence. All CINs that are heard in court will appear on your criminal history and if you are convicted, it will appear on your criminal record.

If Revenue NSW rejects your application you will have a further 28 days to make a payment or set up a pay by instalment plan before enforcement action recommences.

It is possible also appeal the decision to the Local Court within 28 days of the Revenue NSW letter. If you want to make an appeal, you should get legal advice.

Revenue NSW website

Request a review

Revenue NSW may review a fine without the need for an annulment application, even if an overdue fine has been paid, if:

• you did not own the vehicle at the time of the offence and have notified RMS of the new owner's details
• your identity has been misused and you didn't commit the offence
• the fine was for a traffic offence and you can prove your vehicle was not at the location at the time of the offence.

To request a review you can either contact Revenue NSW by phone on 1300 655 805 or write to them at:

Revenue NSW
Locked Bag 2128
North Sydney N​SW 2059​

Y​​ou must provide Revenue NSW with evidence, for example, paperwork or a statut​​ory declarati​​on, supporting your claim. If you do not provide documentation to support your claim, your application may be not be successful.​

Apply for a Work and Development Order (WDO)

A Work and Development Order (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 one of the following applies to you:

• you have a mental illness
• you have an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment
• you have a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol
• you are homeless
• you are experiencing acute economic hardship (which can include where you rely on a Centrelink benefit) 

The activities you can do vary, depending on your personal circumstances. Activities can include:

• unpaid work
• medical or mental health treatment
• a course
• financial counselling
• drug or alcohol treatment
• a mentoring program (if you are under 25).

Your application must be supported by an approved organisation. The Revenue NSW website has a list of approved organisations. If you want to have medical treatment then you will need a medical practitioner (for example a doctor) to support your application.  The medical practitioner will also have to be approved by Revenue NSW.

If you think you may be eligible for a Work and Development Order:

•  contact the Revenue NSW Work and Development Order Hotline on 1300 478 879 or
• read more information on the Revenue NSW website.

If Revenue NSW refuses your application for a Work and Development Order you can appeal this decision to the Hardship Review Board. Before you make this appeal, you should get legal advice.

Apply for a write off of your fine or fines

If you are unable to pay a fine and this is unlikely to change, you can write to Revenue NSW and ask for your fine to be written off.

You will need to show that because of your financial, medical or personal circumstances:

• you do not have any income, money or assets that can be used to pay the fine, and this is unlikely to change in the next five years, and
• you are not suitable to complete community service, and
• you are not suitable for a Work and Development Order.

A write-off is a long process. Revenue NSW will first postpone your fines for five years. In five years time, if your circumstances have not improved, Revenue NSW may agree to write your fines off completely. 

If you receive another overdue fine or your financial circumstances improve within five years Revenue NSW may ask you to pay the fine. If you are asked to pay a fine which has been written off, you should get legal advice.

For more information, go to the Revenue NSW website.

If Revenue NSW refuses your application for a write off you can appeal this decision to the Hardship Review Board. Before you make this appeal you should get legal advice.

Get help

If you are not sure what to do or you are thinking about applying for a Work and Development Order or writing to Revenue NSW to ask for a write-off of your fines, you should get further help.

You may also be able to get free advice or help from:

• Legal Aid NSW
• a  Community Legal Centre
• a financial counsellor.

You can also look at a resource called Fined Out. Fined Out is written by Legal Aid, Redfern Legal Centre and the Inner City Legal Centre and contains lots of useful information, together with sample forms.