Lawyer says there’s a ‘really good’ reason for many COVID-related fines to be overturned

A criminal justice lawyer says the door is open for many Victorians who received COVID-19 fines to have them overturned.

A cross-party parliamentary committee found the health orders were complex and difficult to understand, and contributed to the decline in Victorians mental health.

Australian Lawyers Alliance criminal justice expert Greg Barns says “there’s a really good reason why you might withdraw fines from people”.

“We were saying at the time that one of the problems with COVID laws is they were extremely confusing for people. They were coming out rapidly, they were badly drafted.

“One of the other problems was that people had difficulty in finding them. They rang someone and were told it’s on the website but it was very difficult to find them.

“In terms of the law there is a really good case for withdrawing some of these fines if people want to challenge them and if it’s clear they weren’t deliberately flouting the law.”

Press PLAY below to hear why a lawyer thinks there’s a ‘really good’ reason to withdraw many COVID-19 fines

Berwick retailer Harry Hutchinson, who was fined for opening his clothing shop during lockdown, has had his fine overturned.

“For one it was issued on VicRoads stationery and it was all about losing demerit points, which is absolutely crazy!,” he told Neil Mitchell

“It was withdrawn before it got to court.”

But the Andrews government says it’s not considering withdrawing all COVID-related fines.

Press PLAY below to hear why Harry’s fine was overturned