Fines Victoria IT bungle slammed by VAGO after report into poor practices in rollout

A staggering $740m in fines from leadfoot motorists and court charges have been written off due to a lack of resources.

More than $740m in fines from leadfoot motorists and court charges have been written off by the state government because they are deemed to hard to recoup.

It comes as the state Auditor-General slammed the government’s rollout of the Victorian infringements enforcement warrant (VIEW) system in a scathing report that warned of misleading statements and poor management.

The rollout of the program, used by Fines Victoria, is also $79m over its initial budget.

Under state government rules, unpaid fines are written off after five years because it is unlikely they will be repaid and the state lacks the resources to chase every fine.

Briefing notes obtained by the Herald Sun show from January 2018 to June 2020, these write-offs ballooned to between $68m-$76m a quarter.

Over this period the VIEW system was also severely broken, with an external review finding only a quarter of the system was functional 15 months after it was launched.

It can now be revealed bureaucrats were only able to access their financial reports after two years and decided to write off a total of $740m in long-term fines. In notes prepared for then attorney-general Jill Hennessy, the department warned the decision “may attract media criticism”.

Parking fines dried up for local councils. Picture: Jason Edwards

“From a financial perspective, it is unlikely bad debt or cash will be recoverable after five years,” it says.

“Bad debt write-off is largely due to lapse of time and enforcement activity limitations.”

The government has maintained these debts do not expire and legally must be paid.

One worker inside Fines Victoria said the IT failures had hindered the ability of authorities to chase up these bad debts, with issues still plaguing the system despite improvements.

Last financial year, the department was able to clear just two-thirds of new infringements within 180 days, well below targets. Another internal review also showed the VIEW program was so broken that up until last year the sheriff’s office struggled to issue new warrants.

“The Fines Victoria fiasco is not only stripping money from key frontline services such as ambulances and hospitals, it is yet further evidence the Andrews Labor government is incapable of delivering the basic services that Victorians expect from its state government,” opposition legal affairs spokesman Ed O’Donohue said.

“Victorians want a government that is focused on key services that protect them and respond to their needs, not the needless ideological wars that are irrelevant to most Victorians’ lives and takes up so much of this government’s time and energy.”

A government spokeswoman said it was working continuously to improve the fines system.

“We acknowledge that the IT system experienced technical difficulties when first rolled out three years ago – and we’ve undertaken significant work to remedy those issues,” she said.

It comes as the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office labelled the Department of Justice and Community an “uninformed buyer” in a scathing report into IT failures.

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