Thousands of COVID-19 fines worth millions of dollars are going to be withdrawn and repaid.
The fines were issued by NSW Police to members of the public who allegedly contravened health orders during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
It was argued by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers that the fines — which ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 — were invalid.
The NSW Government withdrew 33,000 fines issued during the pandemic two years ago, after a test case relating to "limited information" in some penalty notices not complying with the Fines Act in the state.
The remaining 23,000 fines will now also be withdrawn.
This brings the total of all fine withdrawals to $15 million, the Redfern Legal Centre said.
Samantha Lee, supervising solicitor at the centre, said it was a "significant win for accountability".
She added: "The goal has always been to seek justice for all people in NSW who were issued with an invalid fine.
"Added to this was the unfairness of fines being unclear about what offence the person was alleged to have committed."
The impact of COVID fines on marginalised communities and on children, was disproportionate, unreasonable, and unjust
Maurice Blackburn had said it would file a class action if Revenue NSW did not withdraw and refund the remaining COVID-19 fines.
Jennifer Kanis, from the firm, said: "When people are fined, they are entitled to know what offence they are alleged to have committed.
"We are pleased the New South Wales Government has agreed to withdraw and refund the remaining 23,000 invalid COVID fines.
"But it's important to note that it was only after the Government was alerted to the prospect of a class action that it agreed to act."
The NSW Department of Customer Service said "around $5.5 million" will be refunded to people who had fully or partly paid their fine.
Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnston said Revenue NSW would be reaching out to affected customers in the coming days.
"Following representations made to the Commissioner of Police and myself concerning the validity of COVID-19 penalty notices, I have decided to exercise my statutory authority and withdraw these notices," he said.
Customers who challenged their fines and have already had them finalised or remain before the courts will not be impacted by the withdrawal.
- Additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
