Penalty unit


In Australian law, a penalty unit is an amount of money used to compute pecuniary penalties for many breaches of statute law. Fines are calculated by multiplying the value of one penalty unit by the number of penalty units prescribed for the offence. For example, if the value of a penalty unit is $150, a fine defined as 100 penalty units would incur a penalty of $15,000.
Prior to the introduction of penalty units, fines and other charges were usually prescribed in terms of ordinary money. However, the effects of inflation meant that originally substantial penalties were eventually reduced to trifling sums. Frequent amendment of the many laws and regulations dealing with pecuniary penalties would be a very time-consuming process. Penalty units provide a quick and simple way to adjust many different fees and charges.

Values

The different jurisdictions that make up Australia each have their own penalty units. The value of a penalty unit, as well as the manner and frequency of adjusting that value, differ from state to state, and there are also federal penalty units that apply only to federal offences:
JurisdictionPenalty unit valueSinceAutomatic indexation mechanism
Federal''Every three years on 1 July, based on the All Groups Consumer Price Index, a weighted average CPI for the eight capital cities.
VictoriaAnnual on 1 July.
New South WalesNone., the value remains unchanged from the original Crimes Act 1999.
QueenslandAnnual on 1 July.
TasmaniaAnnual on 1 July, based on CPI.
Northern TerritoryAnnual on 1 July, based on CPI for Darwin.
ACTReviewed at least every four years from previous enactment.
Western AustraliaVarious—Penalty units are set for different categories of legislation. Traffic offences generally incur a penalty unit of.
South AustraliaNot applicable—South Australia does not have a system of penalty units. Instead, legislation either lists specific fine amounts or maximum "divisional penalties" which form a standard scale.