WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Children as young as 10 have been fined for not wearing face masks in Victoria.
AAP FACTCHECK VERDICT
False. Official data shows Victoria Police has not issued face mask fines to any children younger than 13.
On November 5, Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper published saying that 260 face mask fines have been issued to children in Victoria in the 12 months to June this year, “including 29 given to those between the ages of 10 and 14”.
On the same day, Mr Tudge a link to the article, adding the comment: “Kids as young as 10 fined for not wearing masks. Only in Victoria.”
However, under current rules, children younger than 12 are outside of school settings, meaning that police cannot legitimately issue face mask fines to 10- or 11-year-olds.
Victoria’s (CSA), , told AAP FactCheck in an email the majority of the 29 fines in question were issued to 14-year-olds while a small number were handed to 13-year-olds.
The CSA has not recorded any examples of face mask fines being issued to children younger than 13.
The agency would not confirm the exact number of fines issued to 13-year-olds, citing its , but said the figure was at least one but not greater than three. Therefore, of the 29 fines mentioned in the Herald Sun report that were issued to children aged 10-14, 26 to 28 fines were issued to 14-year-olds while the remainder (one to three) were issued to 13-year-olds.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman told AAP FactCheck that police policy was for infringement notices not to be issued to any person under 14.
“Wherever possible, police will issue a warning or caution to a child (of any age) rather than a fine,” she said via email.
In a follow-up email, a Victoria Police spokesman said he could not say why fines were issued to one or more 13-year-olds in apparent contradiction to police policy. However, all fines may be , he added.
Mr Tudge was not the only one to misinterpret the Herald Sun article. and both published stories wrongly stating that children “as young as 10” in Victoria had been issued with mask fines. The Herald Sun also got the facts wrong when its own story on social media.
THE VERDICT
The claim that children as young as 10 have been fined for failing to wear a face mask in Victoria is a misinterpretation of a news report. According to official data, no person under the age of 13 has been fined for not wearing a face mask in the state.
False – The claim is inaccurate.