Traffic expiation notices
Get our expert advice before you pay the fine
Traffic expiation notices are fines for some types of traffic offences, such as parking violations, minor speeding offences and red light camera offences.
Usually, the police, council or other authority will send you an expiation notice or give it to you at the time of the offence.
The expiation notice is an allegation that you committed the traffic offence and allows you to either pay the fee (the fine) or be prosecuted.
We make few guarantees to our clients, but we do guarantee this:
If you pay the expiation notice fee, you will incur the other penalties for the offence.
In other words, once you’ve paid the fee, all the penalties for the offence will apply to you.
If you’ve received an expiation notice and you’re considering electing to be prosecuted for the offence, or you’re not sure whether you should pay the fee, we recommend getting our legal advice to help you make an informed decision.
Get in touch to find out more about our services.
Frequently asked questions about traffic expiation notices
What penalties apply to traffic expiation notices?
Traffic expiation penalties vary depending on the offence, but usually they include:
- A fee (a fine), and
- Demerit points.
Occasionally there is an automatic driver’s licence disqualification for:
- Some drink driving offences
- Some drug driving offences
- Speeding offences where you go over the speed limit by 45 kilometres per hour or more.
If you incur too many demerit points, you will also receive a demerit point disqualification from the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. For more information, visit our Demerit Points page.
If you’re worried about a traffic expiation notice, contact our traffic lawyers to find out how we can help.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of paying my traffic expiation notice?
The main advantage of paying your expiation notice is that there won’t be a conviction on your criminal record.
The disadvantage of paying the fine is that you can’t avoid the other penalties, for example, demerit points or licence disqualification.
The only way to reduce demerit points is to elect to be prosecuted and apply to the Magistrates Court for a reduction. (The Registrar of Motor Vehicles has no power to reduce demerit points).
For more information, visit our Demerit Points page.
If you’re worried about a traffic expiation notice, contact our traffic lawyers to find out how we can help.
Will my penalty increase if I’m found guilty of the offence?
For some offences, if you elect to be prosecuted and are found guilty, there is a greater penalty than if you pay the expiation notice.
For example, if you pay the expiation notice for a first offence of drug driving, there is an automatic three month licence disqualification. But if you elect to be prosecuted and are found guilty in Court, there is a minimum six month disqualification period.
Even if you mistakenly believed the penalty would be the same as the expiation notice, the Court has no power to reduce the penalty.
It means that challenging an expiation notice requires careful consideration. It’s not as simple as electing to be prosecuted. You must consider consequences such as demerit points and licence disqualifications because they’re not included in the expiation notice.
Seek legal advice from one of our expert traffic lawyers before you decide whether to pay the fine or elect to be prosecuted.
How we can help
Many traffic expiation notices allow you to either pay the fine or elect to be prosecuted. However, it’s a choice that requires careful consideration of how a prosecution will affect you. For example:
- The impact on your licence
- The financial cost
- The chances of successfully defending the charge.
If you pay the fine, it’s considered an acknowledgement that you committed the offence, and it’s almost impossible to reverse the consequences.
Seek our legal advice about traffic expiation notices before you pay a fine. We’ll help you make an informed decision.