How much is a speeding fine/ticket in Australia? - CARS24

Speeding offences are offences which are levied upon an individual for driving over a certain prescribed speed limit. The speed limit is set with consideration to road conditions, public safety, driver & passenger safety and environmental conditions. Each year, speeding contributes to about 41% of road fatalities and 24% of serious injuries.

In Australia, every state devises its own laws and limits along with considerations for fines and pleas. The idea behind allowing each state to devise their own roster for offences is based on the fact that driving conditions are different and city vs rural driving varies from state to state.

Each state has its penalties defined and where there isn’t a defined penalty, it is $2,500 under the Road Traffic Act of 1961. However, the laws would require you to make a case for such a haphazard decision which can bring you and others around you in harm's way. In this blog, we’ll focus on various speeding fines and how one can pay or plea.

Table of contents

• List of speeding offences (city/state wise)

     -  How much is a speeding fine in NSW

     -  How much is a speeding fine in VIC

     -  How much is a speeding fine in QLD

• Public Perception and Government Observations
• How speeding can be detected
• Causes of speeding offence
• Conclusion
  

List of speeding offences

Australia has allowed every state to devise their own road safety regulations. However, the constitution mandates that the regulations be advanced upon some basic foundations which are suggested by the government.

Below is the list of speeding offences and how much fine they come with. Please note that these laws can be updated. It is better to be updated and aware than complacent.

What are the speeding fines in NSW (New South Wales)?

Different speeding offences carry different penalties depending on how severe the offence is. Penalties range from fines and demerit points to licence disqualification and imprisonment. These fines are under the Road Rules of 2014, Rule 20.

These fines are applicable if you’re convicted by the court of NSW. If you wish to search for different types of penalties and fines on roads. Visit the NSW page for Offences and Penalties

What are the speeding fines in Victoria?

Victoria is the second most populated state in the nation. It also is the most populated state with city to rural region ratio. If you are caught committing a traffic offence you may be issued with a penalty in the form of an infringement notice (a fine). Depending on the type of traffic offence, demerit points or a licence suspension may also be applied to your driver's licence or learner permit. Due to this, Victorian laws are strict and apart from these driving offences there are other offences which are discussed below. Learn more about fines and fees of Victorian Regulations Infringement on their website

In addition to the speeding fines, here are some more fines you might want to be aware of. Failing to obey traffic lights, both red-light and red-light arrow incurs a penalty of $481 and three demerit points. Drivers caught by cameras incur the following penalties:

• $577 fine if caught using a portable device such as a mobile phone while driving, and 4 demerit points
• $385 fine for not wearing a seatbelt correctly, and 3 demerit points.
  

What are the speeding fines in Queensland?

From 1 July 2022, tougher penalties for high-risk driving behaviours that continue to cause serious injury and loss of life on our roads apply. These include speeding,  failure to wear a correctly fitted seatbelt (or child restraint), and disobeying traffic lights. The penalties are increasing to align with other similar offences and to deter dangerous driving behaviours on our roads. Double demerit points apply for 2 or more offences committed within 1 year of the previous offence (for speeding offences 21km/hr and above).

Apart from these speeding offences, there are red-light offences and seatbelt offences that you need to be mindful of. If caught on camera with failure to wear a seatbelt properly or correctly-fitted child restraints, the fine is $1078 and 4 demerit points. If one is caught jumping a red, yellow or tram light, the fine is $575 and 3 demerit points. If you feel like there is a case to be made for your obstruction, here’s a link to the QLD Website for Disputing a fine in court.

What are the speeding fines in Western Australia?

Here’s how the Government of South Australia sees speeding

‘ Speed is the biggest killer on our roads. In 2020, 47% of fatalities in 2020 were in crashes in 110 km/h speed zones. Between 2016 and 2020, 1662 people were killed or seriously injured in speed-related crashes. If you do crash, the speed at which you are travelling impacts the risk of injury to you, your passengers and other road users. For every 5km/h increase in travelling speed in a 60km/h zone, the risk of being injured in a crash doubles. At 65km/h the chance of having a crash resulting in injury doubles, it’s four times more likely at 70km/h and the risk increases by 32 times at 80km/h. Your stopping distance due to speeding could be the difference between someone escaping with little more than a scare and a pedestrian losing their life. ’

Road trauma is one of the leading causes of death in Western Australia. Due to this disturbing fact, the state government has created a forum for citizens to post their ideas and suggestions to create awareness and improve road safety. If you have any ideas, here’s a link to Have Your Say.

What are the speeding fines in South Australia?

The fines and penalties in South Australia are listed in Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2014 (RT Regs) [Schedule 9 - Expiation Fees] and Motor Vehicles Regulations 2010 (MV Regs) [Schedule 4 - Demerit Points] and [Schedule 5 – Expiation Fees]. These are the authorities that determine how much the speeding fine would be. However, the government of South Australia allows for more stringent penalties upon the verdict of the court in cases of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, hoon driving and hit and run.

In addition to the fines and penalties listed above, the regulation also incorporates fines and penalties for mobile phone usage and traffic lights violations. These two are uniform across the Australian states as mandated by the Government of Australia. Both of these offences demand a $540 fine and up to 3 demerit points allocated to the driver. For a full list of offences and fines for the same, visit the Penalties and Offences page on the website of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

What are the speeding fines in Tasmania?

Tasmania is the least populous of all Australian states. However, speeding is as much a safety threat here as anywhere else. Thus, there are certain guardrails and guidelines for all drivers and pedestrians to follow in order to minimize road trauma. The list below contains a comprehensive list of excessive speeding offences but isn’t the entirety of traffic offences. We suggest you remember the following offences and read more about the traffic offences with the link given below.

Apart from excessive speeding fines, the government of Tasmania levies fines on anybody with little to no regard of public and self safety. Find a full list of offences from the website of Government of Tasmania - Traffic Offences.

How Speeding Can Be Detected?

Modern technological innovations have cultivated multiple methods to detect overspeeding. The government of Australia mandates that these tools and used for both driver and pedestrian safety. While the government is constantly suggesting to better the awareness of safe driving practices amongst the people, the following are a list of speed traps which incorporate both Human and Machine detection.

You can be caught speeding by

• Fixed speed cameras
• Mobile speed cameras
• Police.

If you're caught speeding by a fixed or mobile speed camera, the camera will clearly show the colour, type, make and number plate of your vehicle.

Speed cameras will also record the:

• Date of the offence
• Time of the offence
• Location details of the camera that took the picture
• Direction of travel of the offending vehicle
• Speed of the offending vehicle
• Speed limit of the road where the camera is situated
• Other security and integrity parameters.
• To ensure that mobile and fixed speed cameras are accurate, Transport for NSW conducts rigorous, regular testing to ensure the cameras are meeting legislation requirements.
  

If you receive an infringement notice, it is best advised to either pay the due fine or appeal to your state government at the earliest. Accumulating demerit points will only go against you in the long run. Stay safe, stay aware, avoid the huge bill and chill.

Public Perception and Government Observations

Poor driver behaviour is a particular concern on rural and regional roads. According to Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH), road users are far more likely to be injured or killed on rural and regional roads than they are in urban areas.

The Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF) submitted that driver behaviour and attitude are notably worse on regional roads in comparison to city driving. The committee was told that:

• 1 in 3 Australians admit they are more likely to break a road rule when driving on rural roads.
• Drivers are 1.5 times more likely to speed on rural roads than they are on city or suburban streets.
• Australian road users are twice as likely to overtake on a double line if driving on a rural road, compared to city or suburban streets.
• More than half of drivers who admit they are more likely to break rules on rural roads would do so because they are less likely to be caught by police.
• 1 in 4 drivers believe that rural road rules should be relaxed to allow for higher speed limits, higher blood alcohol limits and mobile phone usage.
  

The committee heard that community perceptions of the cause of road crashes have shifted substantially over recent years. In 2017, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (Department of Infrastructure) conducted a survey of community attitudes to road safety which revealed that while speed (41%), drunk driving (39%) are still considered prominent factors leading to road crashes, there has been a strong upward trend in the perception that distraction through mobile phone use is the principal cause of road crashes, with over one in three respondents (35%) citing this, up from 22% in 2013.

• The RACV noted, however, that "fines are sometimes viewed as 'revenue raising’ by the public rather than a genuine road safety measure", and this is something that needs to be taken into account by policy-makers.
  
• It was argued that education and transparency (in relation to the road safety camera system) would build public confidence. The RACV, for example, suggested a review of demerit points systems, and argued that consideration should be given to decreasing fines for low-level speeding and increasing demerit points, in order to reflect "that speed enforcement is about safety and not revenue raising".
  

To make a long story short

The presence of speed-related injuries will be an ever-present danger. However, there are many ways and forums which you can employ in order to minimise it. To begin with, teach our provisional licence holders better and safer ways to drive. We need to nurture the next generation of drivers to be as patient and responsible as possible.

With that being said, the sad state of affairs is that speed-related injuries and death tolls are way more than any other reason for death. In order to ensure that doesn’t happen, and to serve as a deterrent, the government has put in place multiple measures to either prevent accidents, increase caution or serve as evidence in case of fine or fatality.