A fine may be imposed by an infringement notice (e.g. parking fines) or a court order (e.g. drink driving offences). If you want to dispute an infringement notice you can elect to have it taken to court.

Fines are payable within the time allowed by the court or infringement notice. If you cannot afford to pay a court fine in that time, you can complete an application for time to pay at the court registry.

In New South Wales Penalty Infringement notices are now handled by the NSW Office of State Revenue through the State Debt Recovery Office (SDRO).

If you do not pay a the Penalty Notice (fine) by the required time it will be sent to the Enforcement Section of the SDRO and you will have 28 days to apply to pay the fine by instalments.  The fine at this stage will incur a $50.00 fee.   Please note enforcement action can involve suspension of driving licence, cancellation of car registration as well as other sanctions including property seizure and garnishee of wages or bank account.  The SDRO can inform you regarding the status of your outstanding fines telephone 1300 138 118 for Penalty Notices and 1300 655 805 For Enforcement orders. Visit http://www.sdro.nsw.gov.au/  for more information.   
 
Court fines are not extinguished by bankruptcy. SDRO penalty notice and enforcement orders may be extinguished by bankruptcy if you do not require any business with the NSW RTA ever again.  If you become bankrupt, the SDRO will not lift RTA sanctions, such as suspension of drivers licence and cancellation of vehicle registration until the fines are paid or in some cases an application to pay by instalments is in place for some time.

DISCLAIMER The information provided in this information sheet is of a general nature only, and is not intended to be legal advice. There may be errors or inaccuracies or the information may not be completely up-to-date. Always check the information provided before relying on it. The information relates to consumer law in New South Wales, Australia.