Infringements special circumstances support letter
This template support letter is intended to support an application to have fines waived on the basis of special circumstances.
It may be used as the internal review or enforcement review stage. Special circumstances include:
- Homelessness (including living in crisis accommodation, transitional accommodation, a boarding house or moving between temporary forms of accommodation)
- drug and or alcohol addiction
- mental or intellectual disability or illness
- family violence (victim/ survivor)
- serious long-term circumstances that make it impossible to deal with the fines but aren’t purely related to financial hardship.
Importantly, your client will need to show that there is a link between the special circumstance and the behaviour that led to the fine. Depending on the special circumstance, they will need to either show that it significantly reduced their capacity to understand, or control, the behaviour that led to the fine. Note this does not apply to the long-term circumstances test above.
For more information about special circumstances applications or fines see Fines: An overview.
The content on the Workers’ Resource Hub is legal information for general guidance and not legal advice. The content on this webpage was last updated in August 2023. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
