You can apply for an internal review of your infringement notice if:
- you think the infringement notice was issued incorrectly
- there was an issue outside of your control that stopped you from being able to obey the law.
We will only withdraw the infringement notice if it meets one of our grounds for review. Being your first offence is not considered grounds for a review.
How to request a review
To request a review, you will need to fill in an Internal Review Application of an Infringement Notice form.
You should include:
- your infringement number
- your contact details
- your grounds for review and an explanation of why you are requesting a review
- any photos or evidence you have to support your request.
Other ways to request a review
If you cannot complete the form online, you can download and fill in the application instead.
Internal review of an Infringement application form (PDF 642KB)
Submit a complaint about your infringement
If you have concerns about your infringement notice or the way the issuing officer acted, but you do not have grounds to request a review of your infringement notice, you can submit a formal complaint instead.
To learn more about submitting a formal complaint, see the Complaints, compliments and feedback page.
View a photo of your offence
Our officer may have taken a photo of the offence. You can see if there is a photo of your infringement by visiting the View a picture of your infringement page.
Grounds for a review of your infringement notice
You can request a review for one of five reasons, or grounds:
- Contrary to law: you believe that the infringement notice was issued by mistake.
- Exceptional circumstances: there was an issue outside of your control like a break down or medical emergency that stopped you from being able to obey the law.
- Mistaken identity: someone else was driving the vehicle at the time of the infringement.
- Special circumstances: you were experiencing homelessness, family violence, addiction or other mental health challenges at the time of the infringement.
- Person unaware: you didn’t know you had been issued an infringement notice.
Financial hardship is not one of the grounds to request a review. See the Help with paying your infringement page for more information on how we can support you to pay your infringement notice.
Contrary to law
You can request a review of your infringement notice if you believe that you did not commit an offence.
This could include situations like:
- parking in a loading zone on a weekend when the parking rules only apply during the week
- parking in a permit zone when you have a valid permit.
Exceptional circumstances
You can request a review of your infringement notice if it was a result of events outside your control. This could include:
- a medical emergency
- a breakdown
- an accident that caused damage to your vehicle.
You can also request a review under exceptional circumstances if your infringement was caused by your Disability Parking Permit being expired or hidden.
Evidence you need to provide
You will need to provide evidence of your exceptional circumstance, including the time and date. This could include:
- a medical report from a doctor outlining the details of your medical emergency
- a supporting letter from a psychologist, social worker or counsellor
- an invoice from a mechanic or towing company
- receipts for car parts (if you fixed the vehicle yourself)
- statutory declarations from witnesses
- photos, videos or security camera footage.
Mistaken identity
If someone else was driving your vehicle at the time of the infringement, you should complete a Nomination Statement form.
This will transfer the infringement notice to the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence.
This could include situations like:
- you lent the vehicle to someone else
- the vehicle was sold to someone else
- the vehicle was stolen.
If the vehicle was stolen, you will need to include a copy of the police report.
Special circumstances
You can request a review of your infringement notice if at the time of the offence you were experiencing:
- an addiction to drugs or alcohol
- homelessness
- family violence
- a mental illness or psychiatric condition.
You can also request a review under special circumstances if you are living with an intellectual or developmental disability.
Evidence you need to provide
You will need to provide evidence showing that your special circumstance led to you getting the infringement notice. This could include:
- a medical report from a doctor or psychiatrist
- a supporting letter from a psychologist, social worker or counsellor.
Person unaware
If you didn’t know you had been issued an infringement notice until after the due date, you can request to have the penalty fee removed.
You will need to request the review within 14 days of learning of the infringement notice.
If you moved house and did not notify VicRoads of your change of address within 14 days, you will not be able to request a review on the grounds that you were unaware.
What happens next?
Once you have applied for a review of your infringement notice, we will consider your reason and evidence. Your infringement notice will be put on hold while this happens.
There are a few different outcomes of your review. This could include:
- the infringement notice being upheld, which means you still need to pay
- the infringement notice being withdrawn, which means you don’t need to pay
- the infringement notice being replaced with a written warning, which means you don’t need to pay
- the removal of penalty fees, which means you only need to pay the original amount
- the infringement notice being withdrawn and the matter being referred to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.
We will send you a letter to let you know the outcome of the review and let you know what you need to do next.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you can apply to have the matter heard in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.