News and Events

I received a fine last year for sitting alone in Redfern Park preparing to teach a law lecture. COVID restrictions were in place and the police thought I had to be actively exercising to be there. They were wrong.

One of the plaintiffs in a NSW Supreme Court case that has the potential to invalidate tens of thousands of COVID-19 fines has had his $1000 infringement withdrawn.

The validity of COVID-19 fines issued across NSW will be called into question in a court case that has the potential to invalidate millions of dollars worth of penalty notices issued during the state’s lockdowns.

Three out of four COVID-19 fines are overdue, with more than 46,000 NSW residents owing $42 million between them.

New South Wales residents owe $1 billion to the state government because of unpaid fines, with more than 380,000 individuals having unpaid enforceable debt with Revenue NSW.

Almost 3,000 COVID-19 fines totalling just over $2.1 million dollars have been issued to children aged 10-17 years since 1 July last year, data obtained by Redfern Legal Centre reveals.

In December 2021, a coalition of 33 legal organisations signed an open letter calling for an immediate pause on enforcement action of COVID-19 fines.

A coalition of 33 legal organisations including RLC have signed an open letter, calling on NSW finance minister Damien Tudehope to introduce a four-month pause on enforcement action on COVID fines, to support people already experiencing vulnerabiliy.

More than 7000 people have applied to Revenue NSW to overturn a COVID-19 fine but only one in 10 appeals were successful, a new freedom of information request obtained by RLC has revealed. 

Western Sydney is technically in recession and will struggle to recover from the recent lockdowns, new data suggests. Samantha Lee says over-policing and tough LGA restrictions have contributed to layers of inequality.