RLC is currently assisting a number of clients who have been issued a $1,000 and $3,000 COVID-19 fine.
Fines have been issued for sitting in a park, away from others, which is defined as lawful recreation under the current restrictions. The centre has also previously warned against the overuse of lockdown fines by NSW Police.
Samantha Lee, solicitor with the police accountability practice at Redfern Legal Centre, said that the NSW government website clearly states that the law does allow people to sit for relaxation, or to eat, drink or read outdoors.
“The public health order allows for people in Greater Sydney and New South Wales, except for the areas of concern, to undertake recreation with one other person or with members of the same household,” she said. “If police have issued a fine to someone just because they were sitting and not breaching the COVID rules, then that fine should be dismissed.
“We are concerned that the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg, and that many more people may have been fined by police when they were not doing anything wrong.”
Read the full article (Lawyers Weekly, 26 August 2021)
