South Australian Government looks at ways to reduce unpaid fines

A review by the South Australian Government has looked at ways to reduce unpaid fines / debts. The recommendations from the review include;
- Impounding cars until debts are paid
- Obtain Credit Card details when registering a vehicle or renewing a license
- A possible prison sentence for repeat offenders
- A debt recovery body be setup to recover the the debts / fines instead of the using the court system
- Remove a constraint on fine collection officers that prevents them from seizing assets listed under the Bankruptcy Act
- Publishing names of repeat offenders
- Requesting the Federal Government to consider giving state collection agencies greater access to Commonwealth data the track down the people avoiding the fines / debts.

These are interesting methods that the South Australian Government review has raised. If you compare this to the direction that the National Credit Code has taken (increasing consumer / debtor protections), the State Government appears to be heading in the opposite direction (decreasing protections / ways of avoiding debts).

The Publishing of names is an interesting point given the obligations of the Privacy Act.

It will be interesting to see what actions the South Australian Government ultimately take, and comparing this to the National Credit Code.