Queensland fine dodgers outed with SPER ‘pay your debt’ car window stickers

With Queenslanders owing $1.25bn in unpaid fines, tardy drivers are being publicly outed by SPER officers slapping large reminder stickers on car windows.

A parked car with a SPER sticker stuck on the window in inner-city Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston. Picture: Liam Kidston

Drivers with unpaid fines are being publicly outed by SPER officers, who are placing large stickers on car windows reminding them to pay their debts.

Officers are using enforcement vehicles equipped with numberplate-recognition technology to find fine dodgers and slap the “pay your debt” stickers on their car windows.

The black and yellow stickers have the words “PAY YOUR SPER DEBT” in large letters, along with a quote number that can be typed into the State Penalties Enforcement Registry website to see how much is owed.

The pictured vehicle, which was parked on an inner-city Brisbane street, is understood to have been one that was captured by numberplate recognition in a blitz early this month.

The driver owed less than $500 but had had their licence suspended.

Queenslanders owe $1.25bn in unpaid fines for everything from dangerous driving offences to failing to wear a bicycle helmet or infringement notices from unpaid tolls.

A parked car with a SPER sticker stuck on the window in inner-city Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston.

SPER, a government arm, collects unpaid fines and penalties that have been referred by bodies such as courts or councils.

Debts can be paid off incrementally or even through unpaid community work.

Action is taken when people or organisations “fail to take steps to deal with their debt”.

“SPER debts are money owed to Queenslanders,” a SPER spokesperson said.

“Where individuals or organisations fail to take steps to deal with their debt, SPER will take enforcement action, including suspending driver’s licences, issuing garnishee notices to banks or employers, clamping cars, and seizing vehicles to sell at auction.”

The spokesperson said their enforcement vehicles were equipped with automatic numberplate-recognition technology and that it helped officers to “engage” with debtors in the community.

A parked car with a SPER sticker stuck on the window. Picture: Liam Kidston

“The technology checks numberplate data from the SPER system to identify vehicles in public locations, including shopping centre carparks, public transport hubs and on public roads that may belong to a debtor,” the spokesperson said.

“Where the owner is with their vehicle, SPER officers will have a conversation with them; otherwise a sticker is placed on the vehicle requesting they contact SPER to discuss their debt.

“SPER debts don’t just go away, and the consequences can be serious, so it is important that people immediately deal with their debt.”

This vehicle was recently seized by SPER.

The stickers have been used as one of the many means of encouraging people to pay their debts since mid-2022.

In the 2022-23 financial year, SPER collected a record $400m in unpaid debts and seized 360 vehicles.

Among them was a Mustang, a Porsche Cayenne, hi-spec utes and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

SPER can sell vehicles where their owners are not willing to pay their debts.

SPER debts are often deferred for people living in disaster-affected areas.