Unpaid Fines in South Australia: Fines SA, Expiation Notices and Enforcement Review

Fines SA, led by the Chief Recovery Officer, enforces unpaid expiation notices, court fines and referred state debt in South Australia, and anyone who has just received an expiation notice should pay it, elect to be prosecuted, or apply for a trifling offence review, which is only available before the fine is paid or put into a payment arrangement and before it is referred to Fines SA for enforcement.

Information last verified on 27 September 2026 against the Expiation of Offences Act 1996 (SA), the Fines Enforcement and Debt Recovery Act 2017 (SA) and Fines SA's own guidance.

This page covers expiation notices, court fines and enforcement in South Australia only, under the Expiation of Offences Act 1996 (SA) and the Fines Enforcement and Debt Recovery Act 2017 (SA), verified 27 September 2026. It does not cover how much a specific traffic offence costs (see the penalty amounts link below), demerit points, or fines in any other state or territory.

Who handles unpaid fines in South Australia

The Chief Recovery Officer is the statutory office, continued under Part 2 of the Fines Enforcement and Debt Recovery Act 2017, that operates publicly as Fines SA, also called the Fines Enforcement and Recovery Unit. Two Acts work together at different layers. The Expiation of Offences Act 1996 governs the notice itself, meaning what an expiation notice is, when one can and cannot be issued, election to be prosecuted, and the trifling offence review. The Fines Enforcement and Debt Recovery Act 2017, known as FEDRA, governs enforcement and collection once a debt is unpaid, including registration, reminder notices, payment arrangements, garnishment, licence suspension, vehicle clamping, community service and imprisonment in default.

South Australia's consumer site describes three main debt types. Expiation notices cover speed camera, on the spot and parking offences issued under an Act, regulation or by law. Court fines, or pecuniary sums, are imposed by a judge or magistrate and include court costs, prosecution costs and the victims of crime levy. State debt is referred by a government agency, such as SA Ambulance or the Department of Education, when its own fee or charge goes unpaid. Two further categories exist alongside these: SAPOL impounding debt, for vehicle impound costs after a court conviction, and Victims of Crime debt, court ordered payments to a victim that the Fines Unit collects and passes on.

Receiving a fine

An expiation notice states an expiation fee payable within 28 days under section 6(1)(c) of the Expiation of Offences Act. It cannot be given to a child under 16 (unless another Act provides otherwise) under section 6(1)(g); whether it can be given to a person aged 16 or 17 depends on whether the specific offence creating Act or regulation restricts it under section 6(1)(h); it cannot be given more than six months after the alleged offence under section 6(1)(e); and it cannot be given once prosecution has already commenced under section 6(1)(f). If the matter proceeds to court and the alleged offender was under 18 at the time of the offence, the matter goes to the Youth Court rather than the Magistrates Court.

For court fines (pecuniary sums), FEDRA section 18 sets a staged reminder ladder. If the amount is still unpaid 28 days after the order imposing it, the Chief Recovery Officer must issue a reminder notice, which adds a prescribed reminder notice fee. If it remains unpaid 14 days after that reminder, a further $129 is added, and if it remains unpaid another 28 days after that, a further $236 is added (Regulations 11, as at the 1 August 2026 version). The Chief Recovery Officer may waive any part of these amounts in whatever circumstances they consider just. The reminder notice fee itself is not stated in the Act; check the current figure with Fines SA.

Expiation notices run differently. If the fee is unpaid at the end of the 28 day expiation period, the issuing authority, not Fines SA, must send an expiation reminder notice, which adds a prescribed reminder notice fee and comes with an election form and, for a vehicle owner, a driver nomination form (Expiation of Offences Act section 11). If a nomination or statutory declaration was not accepted, an expiation enforcement warning notice with its own prescribed fee is sent instead (section 11A). If the amount is still unpaid 14 clear days later, the Chief Recovery Officer can make an enforcement determination, which adds $129, with a further $236 if the amount is still unpaid, and not under an arrangement, 28 days later (FEDRA sections 22 and 26; Regulations 19). An enforcement determination counts as expiation of the offence (section 22(4)).

Two fees are confirmed as currently in effect: a $24.90 application fee for a new payment arrangement, and a $31.25 fee for an application to review an enforcement action. Payment channels include the Fines Online portal at myfines.sa.gov.au, phone, direct debit, Centrelink deduction, or as part of an arrangement.

Contesting a fine

South Australia keeps two separate review tracks for an expiation notice, and its own guidance is explicit that they are not the same thing. A review of the fine itself, on the ground that the offence is trifling, is made under section 8A to the issuing authority, not to Fines SA; the issuing authority need not conduct an inquiry but may require further information or a statutory declaration. Separately, an election to be prosecuted under section 8 can be made at any time up until either the day a FEDRA section 20 payment arrangement is entered into, or the day an enforcement determination is made under FEDRA section 22; it is not a flat 28 day cutoff. A 14 day late election window reopens under section 8(2a) if an enforcement determination is revoked because the person did not have a reasonable opportunity to elect.

A third and distinct track, a review of enforcement under FEDRA, applies once a fine has already moved into the enforcement system. Confirmed grounds include: the person did not receive the original notice; the issuing agency did not receive an election, statutory declaration or driver nomination that was sent; the fine should not have been issued; the fine has already been paid; the issuing agency did not follow the required procedure; or exceptional circumstances prevented a timely election or trifling offence review application. This review costs $31.25, payable online at lodgement, and a further review may be refused if a previous review was already granted on the same fine. If a review is granted, the fine reverts to the issuing agency at its original amount with a fresh window to pay, elect, lodge a statutory declaration or driver nomination, or set up a payment arrangement. Apply within 30 days of the enforcement notice (FEDRA section 22(5)); late applications can be accepted for good reason, and a refusal on the election or trifling offence review grounds can be taken to the Magistrates Court, or the Youth Court for a youth, within 30 days (section 23).

For state debt specifically, disputing the existence or amount of the debt is done by application to the Magistrates Court within 28 days of receiving notice of the civil debt determination (FEDRA section 50; Fines SA's page says 30 days, the Court can extend the time, and no court fee is payable), rather than through the expiation review tracks above.

Hardship

South Australia's hardship architecture is structurally different from states that run an agency based Work and Development Order, and it has no scheme by that name. Non monetary options are limited, but they exist at two levels.

First, the Chief Recovery Officer can agree a hardship arrangement that includes community service or an approved treatment program, where satisfied that the person does not have, and is not likely within a reasonable time to have, the means to pay without hardship (FEDRA sections 15(5) to (7) and 20(6) to (8)). Under the Regulations, arrangement community service is calculated at 7.5 hours for each $200 converted, performed for at least 4 hours a week under a community corrections officer, and the treatment program must be an alcohol, drug or gambling program (Regulations 3A, 8 and 12). For an expiation notice, community service can only be agreed after an enforcement determination (section 20(7)(b)). On completion of a treatment program the Chief Recovery Officer must waive the whole or part of the amount under the arrangement (sections 15(13) and 20(14)). Ask Fines SA what it currently offers in your circumstances.

Second, the Chief Recovery Officer can apply for court ordered community service under FEDRA section 46, and for a youth, the youth can also apply to the Youth Court at any time (section 3A). The Magistrates Court, or the Youth Court for a youth, must be satisfied that the debtor does not have and is not likely within a reasonable time to have the means to satisfy the debt without hardship to themselves or their dependants. Hours are set at 7.5 hours per prescribed unit of the monetary amount, or a fraction of a unit; the prescribed unit is $200 (Regulations 22). A youth's order is administered under the Young Offenders Act 1993 and the Youth Justice Administration Act 2016, not as an ordinary adult community service sentence, under section 46(8).

Community service is enforceable by imprisonment in default under section 47, but only for failing to comply with the community service order itself, not for the original non payment directly. The term is one day for every 7.5 hours of community service remaining, capped at 12 months, and can be made cumulative on other imprisonment. For a youth, the court may substitute home detention instead of a warrant of commitment under section 47(6)(b). If the non compliance was trivial or excusable, the court can instead extend the order for up to six months, impose a fresh order, or cancel unperformed hours under section 47(8); if the person is later found to have means after all, the court can revoke the order and impose an ordinary fine instead, crediting hours already performed, under sections 47(9) and 47(10).

Waiver and write off are two different tools under sections 19 (court fines) and 25 to 27 (expiation notices). The Chief Recovery Officer may waive payment of all or part of a sum at absolute discretion, or write off a sum if there is no reasonable prospect of recovery or the recovery costs would equal or exceed the amount owed. Writing off a debt does not discharge the debtor's legal liability to pay; it only means the Chief Recovery Officer stops actively pursuing it, so a written off South Australian fine should not be described as forgiven or cleared.

A South Australia specific carve out under sections 16 and 21 lets the Chief Recovery Officer waive a debt or offer an arrangement for a debtor who has been found guilty of, or expiated, driving unlicensed under section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 on more than two occasions, has not reoffended since, and has since obtained a licence. It is a one time relief valve, usable only once per debtor.

Entering a payment arrangement costs a $24.90 application fee and forfeits the right to elect to be prosecuted, nominate another driver, or apply for a review, a trade off Fines SA's own site states explicitly. Fines SA also states that any demerit points will be issued to the person named on the notice and can no longer be disputed or transferred. The Chief Recovery Officer may also publish a debtor's name and details on a website once contact attempts have failed and no payment or arrangement exists, except for a youth, a person subject to a suppression order, or a protected person.

What happens if you do not pay

South Australia's enforcement actions, confirmed from both FEDRA and Fines SA's own guidance, include several tools short of imprisonment, plus one narrow path to imprisonment.

A restriction on transacting business with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles under section 39 blocks renewing registration or a licence and most other motor vehicle transactions, although a transfer to a buyer who is not a joint registered owner is still allowed (section 39(6)); this does not apply to overdue state debts. A driver's licence suspension under section 38 takes effect 14 days after notice of the Chief Recovery Officer's written determination is given, adds a prescribed fee, and lasts until the Chief Recovery Officer cancels it, which must happen on full payment, and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is notified; it is independent of demerit points and of any separate court disqualification, and it also does not apply to overdue state debts.

Garnishment under section 37 lets money owed to a debtor by a third party, including wages and money in a bank account, be attached to pay an overdue fine or expiation notice without the debtor's consent, and an employer commits an offence by dismissing, injuring or prejudicing an employee because of it (section 37(6)). Fines SA's own page says the same: it can take money from your salary or bank account without your permission. The separate civil state debt power in section 62 is narrower: a determination against salary or wages for a state debt needs the debtor's consent (section 62(7)).

Vehicle clamping or impounding under section 41 can happen without notice if the debtor is the sole registered owner, or after reasonable attempts to notify other owners. Property seizure and sale under section 36 can reach land (a sale of land only where more than $10,000 is owed, section 36(3)(b)), motorbikes, boats, trailers, cars and other assets, with removal and storage costs added to the debt. A charge on land under section 33, registered with Land Services SA, blocks a free sale, transfer or refinance until the debt is paid or an arrangement is made, and shows on a Land Titles search.

Court ordered community service under section 46, enforceable by imprisonment in default, is the only route to imprisonment in South Australia's fines system, and it runs through a court order and only for breaching that order, not as a direct mechanism for failing to pay the original fine.

Interstate enforcement

South Australia's interstate mechanism is a statutory framework for multi jurisdictional agreements, broader in its own terms than a scheme limited to companies. FEDRA section 28 lets the South Australian Minister enter an agreement with one or more other Australian jurisdictions to enforce South Australian expiation notices elsewhere, and to enforce another jurisdiction's expiation notices in South Australia, including authorising a participating jurisdiction's authority to act with the Chief Recovery Officer's powers, and vice versa. Section 32 separately lets the Chief Recovery Officer disclose prescribed details of a debtor to a prescribed authority of another jurisdiction. Which jurisdictions currently have such an agreement in force with South Australia was not checked for this page, so a reader should not assume every state and territory is covered. Separately, a court fine imposed on an individual can be registered for enforcement in the state where the person appears to live under Part 7 of the Commonwealth Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (sections 112 and 113); that route covers court fines, not expiation notices.

Recent reforms

The Fines Enforcement and Debt Recovery (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2025, South Australian Act 58 of 2025, commenced 1 August 2026. It amended the fines and expiation enforcement provisions as well as the civil state debt provisions. On the fines side it inserted section 3A on youths, amended the payment arrangement provisions in sections 15 and 20 (including letting the Chief Recovery Officer extend an existing arrangement to another debt, which the person can ask to rescind within 14 days), added the escalating amounts in section 18, rewrote section 19(1) on enforcement action and inserted section 19(1a) on waiver and write off, and amended the enforcement determination, community service and imprisonment provisions, including sections 22, 26, 27, 46 and 47. On the state debt side it amended many of the civil debt recovery provisions in Part 8, which cover debts owed to public authorities such as SA Ambulance or the Department of Education; a page specifically about state debt should cite the post reform section numbers. The Expiation of Offences Act 1996 itself was not amended by this reform and remains at its 2023 version.

Related reading

Unsure how much a specific offence costs before it reaches enforcement? See Speeding Fines in Australia for penalty amounts by state, or Mobile Phone Detection Cameras in Australia for camera offence fines. For how an expiation notice affects your licence separately from its fee, see South Australia Demerit Points or look up an offence on the Australia Demerit Points Lookup for SA. For how fines enforcement compares across every Australian state and territory, see the Australia Fines hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an expiation notice in South Australia?

It is South Australia's name for an infringement notice, such as a speed camera, on the spot or parking fine, issued under an Act, regulation or by law. It states a fee payable within 28 days under section 6(1)(c) of the Expiation of Offences Act, and cannot be given to a child under 16, more than six months after the alleged offence, or once prosecution has already commenced.

Does South Australia have a Work and Development Order like other states?

Not by that name. South Australia has no Work and Development Order scheme, but non monetary options exist: the Chief Recovery Officer can agree a hardship arrangement that includes community service or an approved alcohol, drug or gambling treatment program (FEDRA sections 15 and 20; ask Fines SA what is currently offered), and can otherwise apply for a court ordered community service order under FEDRA section 46. Imprisonment can only follow a breach of a court community service order, not the original non payment.

Can Fines SA take money from my bank account or wages without permission?

Yes. For an overdue fine or expiation notice, FEDRA section 37 lets Fines SA attach wages or a bank account without permission, and an employer cannot lawfully dismiss or disadvantage you because of it. The consent requirement for wages in section 62(7) applies only to civil state debts, such as SA Ambulance fees.

What is the difference between disputing my expiation notice and disputing enforcement in South Australia?

A trifling offence review under section 8A goes to the issuing authority and challenges the notice itself. A review of enforcement, made once a fine is already in the FEDRA system, has its own listed grounds and a $31.25 fee, and is a separate process from the trifling offence review.

If Fines SA writes off my debt, do I still owe it?

Yes. Writing off a debt under FEDRA does not discharge the legal liability to pay; it only means the Chief Recovery Officer has stopped actively pursuing it. A waiver is a different and stronger step that genuinely reduces or removes the amount owed.

Can I go to prison for an unpaid fine in South Australia?

Only indirectly. Imprisonment can follow a breach of a court ordered community service order under FEDRA section 47, but it is not a direct consequence of failing to pay the original fine.

Does entering a payment arrangement affect my right to dispute an expiation notice?

Yes. Entering a payment arrangement, which costs a $24.90 application fee, forfeits the right to elect to be prosecuted, nominate another driver, or apply for a review, according to Fines SA's own guidance. Any demerit points are then issued to the person named on the notice and can no longer be disputed or transferred.