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Local law and animal fines

If you breach any state legislation or local law you can be fined. State legistration or local laws breaches can relate to but not limited to animals, unslightly property, littering and dumped rubbish. It is important to familiarise yourself with the Moreland City Council Local Laws, State legislation (e.g. EPA and Animals Act) and information on our responsible pet ownership page to ensure you do not break the law.

Moreland City Council changed its name to Merri-bek City Council on 26 September 2022. Moreland City Council General Local Law 2018 is still valid until a new Local Law is made.

Pay your animal or local laws fine 

Pay an animal fine online 

 Pay a local laws fine

  • You need the 'infringement number' located on your notice.
  • You must pay the whole fine and not just a partial amount. If you need to pay in installments please read below. 
  • You cannot pay the fine if the fine has been referred to the courts for prosecution.
  • You can pay your parking fine by phone with a Visa or MasterCard 24 hours a day using our secure automated system.

    To pay your parking fine by phone:

    1. Call 9240 1111 and press 1 to make a payment. Then press 1 to pay 'fines and infringements' and follow the voice prompts.
    2. You will need to provide the 'Infringement number' located on your notice and your Visa or MasterCard number details.
  • You can pay your parking fine by post by:

    1. Separating the payment slip at the bottom of the notice and mailing it (before the due date) with your cheque or money order to: Merri-bek City Council, Locked Bag 10, Brunswick VIC 3056.
    2. Make the cheque or money order payable to ‘Merri-bek City Council’ and cross it 'Not negotiable'. Do not include cash in the mail.

    We do not provide a receipt for payments received by mail. Please keep the top section of the notice for your records.

  • You can pay your parking fine in person by:

    1. Bringing your fine to a Customer Service Centre before the due date. You can find the locations of our Customer Service Centres on our Contact us page.
    2. You can pay by Visa or MasterCard, EFTPOS, cheque, money order and cash. The minimum payment for all card transactions is $10 and there is no cash out facility.
  • You can pay your parking fine on our eServices website.

Request a payment plan to pay your animal or local laws fine 

  • You can request to pay your fine through a payment plan if you have either:

    • a Pensioner concession card, DVA Gold Card TPI (Total and Permanently Incapacitated), DVA Gold Card WW (War Widow), or Health Care Card
    • more than one fine
  • A payment plan is a formal agreement with us and is available for a maximum of 6 months.

    Missing a payment or not making the initial payment will cause the payment plan to be cancelled. The fine will then proceed through the enforcement process and may incur additional costs.

  • Apply online: You can set up a payment plan with us by completing the online Payment Plan Application Form.

    Complete an online Payment Plan Application Form

    By phone: You can set up a payment plan with us by calling 9240 1111.

    In some circumstances, you might need to complete our Payment plan application form (PDF). Once you have filled in this form you can either: 

    • Mail it to Merri-bek City Council, Locked Bag 10, Brunswick VIC 3056
    • Fax it to 9240 1212
    • Email a scanned copy of the form to citysafety@merri-bek.vic.gov.au

    The application for a payment plan must be received by us before the due date.

    Please note: if you get a fine from us, you have 28 days to pay or arrange a payment plan. Alternatively, if you meet certain circumstances, you can appeal your fine.

  • You can pay an installment on your payment plan on our eServices website. You will need to enter the notice number and the agreed payment plan amount will appear.

Request a payment extension to pay your animal or local laws fine  

An extension of time to pay may be granted at Council's discretion. You can apply for a due-date extension by calling us on 9240 1111

How to request a review of a local law or animal fine

If you received a local law or animal fine, you are entitled to apply for an internal review under the Infringements Act 2006 (the Act). An internal review must be received by Council before the fine is registered with Fines Victoria or lodged with the Magistrates’ Court.

A review for a fine can only be made once under the Act. We therefore encourage you to provide all information relating to the fine and supply any documentation that supports your grounds for review. The grounds for review are outlined below.

State laws prevent the Mayor and/or Councillors from playing any role in the internal review of an infringement notice. Merri-bek City Council has a clear process of reviewing infringements which is conducted by authorised officers in a fair and independent manner, in accordance with the principles of administrative law and under the relevant State legislation.

Grounds for internal review

Person Unaware – You can request a review under this ground if all of the following apply:

  • you found out about the fine within the last 14 days

  • the fine was not personally given to you by an officer, and

If you moved house but you did not change your authorised address with the relevant agency (for example, VicRoads or Council) within 14 days of moving, your application may not be successful.

Your application may not be successful unless you provide evidence showing you did not know about the fine. This could be a copy of your passport or boarding pass showing you were overseas, an invoice from a removalist showing that you moved house, a VicRoads address change confirmation, or a report about mail theft.

You must submit your application within 14 days of the date you became aware of the fine.

If your application is successful, you will be granted a further 21 days to deal with your fine and any fees added to your fine will be removed.

Contrary to Law - You can apply under this ground if you believe that Council’s decision to fine you was inconsistent with the law. For example, you were fined for parking in a Permit Zone but you had a valid permit displayed.

Mistaken Identity - You can request a review under this ground if you have been incorrectly identified as the person who committed an offence and you have evidence to prove this. For example, if you know who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence, you should nominate the driver.

Exceptional Circumstances - You should select this ground only if you can show that the offence occurred due to circumstances that were out of the ordinary, unavoidable or exceptional, such as a medical emergency or a vehicle breakdown.  

Special Circumstances  - These circumstances are very specific. You can select this ground if you committed the offence in part because:

  • you had a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness

  • you had a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance

  • you were homeless

  • you were a victim of family violence, or

  • you cannot deal with your fine/s because of severe disabling long-term circumstances.

You must provide document/s that supports the special circumstances. Depending on your circumstances, this may be a report from your treating specialist such as psychologist/psychiatrist or a social worker/case manager outlining your circumstances, how this affected you in committing the offence, and what interventions are in place to prevent it occurring again.

More information about Special Circumstances is available on the Fines Victoria website.

There are two ways to submit your application for an internal review:

What happens when you submit an internal review application:
  • The infringement will be placed on hold in accordance with the Infringements Regulations 2016.

  • Consideration will be given to the information and evidence you have provided and the evidence collected by the issuing officer.

  • Council has 90 days to consider your application and advise of the outcome.

  • You do not need to do anything until you receive a letter from Council.

What happens when a decision is made on the internal review:
  • Council will send you a letter advising of the outcome of the internal review application. The letter will be sent by post to the address you have provided (or where you have consented for someone to act for you, to the address of that person).

  • Should you wish to receive the response via email, please specify this in your request for internal review.

  • The letter will advise of Council’s decision and all relevant information.

Nominate another responsible party

In some instances, such as animal related fines, nominations are not available.

  • Where a property is rented/leased and a fine or Notice to Comply issued, the property owner may nominate the occupier(s) only if the property owner can demonstrate that they have a lease agreement with the occupier that puts the onus on the occupier to maintain the property.

    A copy of the lease agreement will need to be submitted with the nomination. Without this, the onus is on the property owner and the nomination cannot be accepted. The lease agreement must include the following:

    • Property details
    • Dates of rental agreement
    • Names of tenants/renters being nominated
    • the tenant/occupier is responsible for maintaining the property;
    • the tenant/occupier shall not use or allow the premises to be used in such a manner as to cause nuisance to any occupier or neighbouring premises etc.

    You may send the required details and documents to info@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or by submitting a request for review and attaching the documents via Council’s website.

  • Nominations for animal fines are unavailable as the responsibility falls to person in charge of the animal at the time of the infringement.

  • If the fine involves a motor vehicle please complete the Nomination Statement Form (DOC) and return to info@merri-bek.vic.gov.au.

 

Request to go to court

Under the Infringements Act 2006, a person issued with an infringement notice may request for their infringement to be heard and determined in the Magistrates Court. If you would like for your matter to be heard in court, you need to notify Council in writing by sending a request to Merri-bek City Council, Locked Bag 10 Brunswick 3056 by the due date.

It is important to be aware that Court lodgement fees will be applied if you request to go to court. If the matter is found in Council’s favour, Council will seek an order to have the lodgement fees added to the infringement amount. Once the fine is lodged with the Courts, if you change your mind and decide to pay the fine, you will be required to pay the lodgement fee incurred by Council along with the original fine amount.

Court elect fees

For a single offence the fee is $90.60 and for multiple offences the fee is $136.70 (subject to increase 1 July each year).