The Sydney suburbs where the most children received COVID-19 fines

Children in the western Sydney suburbs of Blacktown, Parramatta and Liverpool were the most likely to be fined for breaching COVID-19 rules, receiving multitudes more infringements than comparable centres around the city.

The top eight suburbs where minors were fined were all in western Sydney, with Penrith, Mount Druitt, Campbelltown, St Marys and Bankstown rounding out the list, followed by Haymarket in Sydney’s CBD and Dubbo.

Police patrol outside a vaccination centre on a Bankstown shopping strip during the Delta lockdown in August 2021.Credit: Steven Siewert

Those western Sydney suburbs were mostly located in “areas of concern” where the government applied more severe restrictions, including curfews and banning people leaving the area for work unless they were an approved worker.

But the difference in the number of children fined was significant. While 220 minors were fined in Blacktown, 128 in Parramatta and 111 in Liverpool, just 26 were fined in Sydney CBD, three in Surry Hills, nine in Manly and 19 in Bondi, Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction combined.

Most fines to minors were issued for breaking lockdown rules - leaving home without a reasonable excuse - or failure to wear or carry a face mask. Only 50 of nearly 4000 fines related to breaking the curfew in areas of concern.

The data was released by NSW Police to Redfern Legal Centre under freedom of information laws, and covered the period from the start of the pandemic in 2020 until June 4, 2022. The vast majority of fines were issued during last year’s long Delta lockdown.

In a statement, NSW Police said the virulent and serious nature of the Delta variant of COVID resulted in rapidly evolving public health orders, including the designation of “areas of concern”.

“A compliance and enforcement response was required to limit movement and ensure compliance with public health orders in these areas to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and protect the community,” NSW Police said.

“Outside of these identified areas of concern, police still had the ability to respond to breaches of relevant public health orders by issuing infringement notices, regardless of the age of the person involved.”

The suburb of Penrith, where 84 minors were fined, was never listed as an area of concern - even though nearby suburbs such as St Marys, where 70 minors were fined, was on the list. In Burwood, which was located in an LGA of concern, just one child was fined; in Strathfield, 32.

“It’s the most economically vulnerable parts of Sydney. It was a hard enough time for kids as it was, let alone having to fine them.”

Samantha Lee, a senior solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre

Outside the top 10, the suburbs where the most fines were given to minors (between 30 and 40) included Hurstville, Cronulla, Sydenham and Wolli Creek.

Samantha Lee, a senior solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, said it was “distorted” to say children in western Sydney were fined more just because they were subject to stricter rules and flouted them.

“They were areas that were policed more. They were areas where people were out of the house more because their parents needed to work. They’re in smaller houses. It’s not an equal playing field out there,” she said.

“It’s the most economically vulnerable parts of Sydney. It was a hard enough time for kids as it was, let alone having to fine them.”

The same pattern was true for adults who received fines; the Herald previously reported people in “areas of concern” were more likely to be fined amid Operation Stay at Home last July and August.

Blacktown’s Labor mayor Tony Bleasdale said the imposition of extra rules for parts of western Sydney was “an appalling double standard” and he felt sorry for police who had to enforce the government’s policy.

“I don’t believe the police were too impressed with having to carry out that activity in western Sydney either,” he said. “Why weren’t they doing this at Bondi, Vaucluse and Woollahra?”

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.