Coronavirus fines for breaching social distancing depend on where you live

Coronavirus lockdown fines vary wildly across Australia, meaning people are far more likely to be stung if they live in certain areas, data suggests.

With each state bringing in different laws during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also being adapted differently by police forces.

Officers in Victoria are dishing out more than double the number of fines compared than their neighbours in New South Wales.

Since the laws were brought in across the states and territories, 509 fines have been given out for breaking lockdown restrictions in NSW.

This is compared to the whopping 1,249 dished out in Victoria, compared to just 24 in the Northern Territory.

Queensland Police are seen moving on a sunbather from the beach at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast on April 10 (pictured)

Police in South Australia stop a man near the border east of Pinnaroo, with people entering the state required to go into 14 days is self-isolation

The state with the second highest number is Queensland with 827 fines, followed by NSW with 509. 

In Western Australia, 27 have been given out, with 68 issued in South Australia.

Meanwhile in Tasmania, the police aren’t issuing on the spot fines at all, instead choosing to make arrests and let the courts decide.

As of Friday, 36 people were arrested in Tasmania for alleged breaches of the lockdown laws, with 24 subsequently charged.

The laws are different in every state.

For example, taking a family member out on a driving lesson is allowed in NSW, but may warrant a fine elsewhere.

It comes amid concerns police in Victoria, which has issued the highest number of infringement notices, may have been ‘overzealous’ with the fines.

NSW police are seen on patrol (pictured) as social distancing measures are put in place for trading at the Sydney Fish Market on April 10

CORONAVIRUS FINES: STATE BY STATE

The number of fines given out for alleged breaches of the COVID-19 lockdown laws vary by state.

Victoria: 1,249

Queensland: 827

New South Wales: 509

South Australia: 68

Western Australia: 27

Northern Territory: 24

Tasmania: 36 arrests (no spot fines)

ACT: Unknown 

Victoria’s own deputy police commissioner Shane Patton implied some fines have been dished out unnecessarily.    

‘If some of those aren’t properly issued, or they don’t pass that common sense test, they will be withdrawn,’ he said.

One man in NSW received a fine last week for eating a kebab on a bench. 

Lawyer James Caldicott, based in Adelaide, said some police had taken a ‘heavy-handed’ approach. 

‘In states where (the outbreak is) quite clearly is a more significant issue, like we’ve seen in New South Wales, Victoria, they’re going to be more strict,’ he told ABC.

‘You see a more relaxed approach in states where it hasn’t been necessary or hasn’t been as serious, like South Australia, the Northern Territory and somewhat in Tasmania.

Residents across Australia are being urged to stay at home to stop the spread of COVID-19 (pictured, a sign in North Sydney’s CBD on April 10)

 ‘Then you see in other states like WA most recently, a very heavy-handed approach and serious take on those discretionary matters [resulting in] a jail term.’

Under Victoria’s stage three restrictions, residents can leave their homes only to go shopping for food and essential supplies, medical care or caregiving, work or education if necessary and exercise.

People can be fined $1,652 if they leave home for non-essential reasons and businesses face a $9,913 fine if caught.

Some of those fined in the state included four people having a barbecue at a bathing box on Brighton Beach and 10 people partying in a backyard in Strathdale.

Fines were also given to 10 people gathered at Montrose.

Victoria police are seen speaking to a man at St Kilda beach in Melbourne on April 13 (pictured)

Two police officers patrol along Cottesloe Beach in Perth on April 10, looking for potential rule-breakers

HOW MUCH ARE THE FINES?  

Disobeying a COVID-19 rule incurs a $1,000 fine in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

In Queensland it’s $1,334.50, in Victoria it’s $1,652 and in the Northern Territory, $1,099.   

But on Tuesday, Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt defended officers on ABC Radio Melbourne.

He said that the transition to working with ‘everyday Victorians’ rather than ‘crooks’ was a difficult one – and the new rules left some officers confused.

‘It’s a difficult position to be in,’ he said.

‘Some of the new rules and regulations are somewhat ambiguous and entirely subjective in their assessment.’

Victorian police recently dropped a $1,652 fine handed out to 17-year-old learner driver Hunter Reynolds, who was receiving driving lessons from her mother Sharee, about 30km from their Hampton home, in Melbourne’s south-east. 

Despite some people – dubbed COVIDIOTS online – breaching the rules, many Australians have followed the orders to stay at home and exercise social distancing by staying 1.5 metres from others. 

The latest fines in NSW include a brawl in a unit, a group of people drinking alcohol at a shopping mall and a teenager smoking and drinking in a park. 

Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll holds a infographic explaining social distancing and isolation rules during a press conference in Brisbane on April 8

The Police Federation of Australia (PFA) said enforcing the new restrictions had been an ‘incredibly difficult’ task for officers. 

‘When the restrictions were out in place, it was quite clear it was extremely urgent and extremely necessary, and police were very clear with regards to being black and white in enforcing those restrictions,’ PFA chief executive Scott Weber said.   

A 26-year-old man from south-west Sydney is the latest to get busted, with police revealing he had ‘told officers he was going to see a friend for relationship advice’

The resident of Heckenberg was given a $1,000 fine, 10 minutes after he had disobeyed a formal warning from the Liverpool area command to go home.

NSW police officer (pictured) is seen pulling over a P-plate driver in Sydney on April 12

At the other end of the age spectrum, a 64-year-old man from Woollahra, in Sydney’s east, was found almost 300km at Boomerang Beach, near Forster, on the state’s mid-north coast.

Asked why he was there, he allegedly told police ‘he had been on the beach for two hours using his mobile phone’.

Last week, a 41-year-old man from Bathurst, in the state’s central west, was fined $1,000 for taking a morning walk, even though exercise is allowed under tighter COVID-19 public health order restrictions that came into effect on March 31.

Despite that, the police argued ‘he gave several different reasons for being out of his home’.

Police oversee passengers from the cruise ship Vasco da Gama disembark at Fremantle after completing their quarantine period on Rottnest Island on April 10 (pictured)

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 6,509

New South Wales: 2,926

Victoria: 1,302

Queensland: 1,001

South Australia: 434

Western Australia: 535

Australian Capital Territory: 103

Tasmania: 180

Northern Territory: 28

TOTAL CASES:  6,509

RECOVERED: 3,752

DEAD: 64

Under stage three restrictions in NSW, gatherings are restricted to no more than two people except for members of someone’s immediate household.

Residents are only allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons, including for food, work or education, exercise and medical care or compassionate needs. 

Disobeying a COVID-19 rule incurs a $1,000 fine in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

In Queensland it’s $1,334.50, in Victoria it’s $1,652 and in the Northern Territory, $1,099.  

Fines across Australia are a controversial issue, considering people are being penalised even for obeying strict rules to remain 1.5 metres apart in public. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING LAWS EXPLAINED STATE-BY-STATE: HOW TO AVOID GETTING CAUGHT OUT

Queensland

Gatherings are restricted to two people, with residents only allowed out of their homes for a few essential reasons. 

This includes buying food or essential goods, getting a medical treatment or engaging in physical exercise. 

You can also visit a terminally ill relative or attend a funeral.

Students are also allowed to attend childcare, school, college or university.

From April 3, the state’s borders will be closed to everyone except residents and essential workers.

New South Wales

NSW officials are also enforcing the two-person limit, with residents legally obliged to stay at home unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’. 

This includes travelling to work or school, buying food or other essentials, exercise and medical reasons.

It is left up to police officers to decide who will get the fines, with the maximum being an $11,000 fine or six months in prison.  

Victoria 

The state has also brought in the two-person limit inside and outside the home – not counting pre-exisitng members of the household.

Its chief medical officer Dr Brett Sutton confirmed an exception would made for people visiting their boyfriend or girlfriend if they lived separately. 

Otherwise, people are allowed to leave the house for one of five reasons – shopping for food, work and education, care reasons, exercise or other extenuating circumstances. 

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT is also enforcing the two-person limit, but people are allowed up to two guests inside their homes – only if there is at least four square metres per person.   

It also only allows people to leave home for essential reasons, including shopping for essentials, medical reasons, exercise, work or study.

Offenders are being issue with warnings, but may get a fine if they are found to be breaking the rules again.

Western Australia 

As well as closing its borders to non-residents, WA has also introduced fines for people who cross out of their region.

Nine regions have been carved up, and people cannot move between them for anything but an essential reason.

This includes going to work, medical appointments, school or other types of education.

Drivers are also allowed to transport freight, and people can go to a shop outside of their area if the essentials are not available closer to home.  

Northern Territory 

In NT, police are still enforcing a 10-person limit rather than just two people.

But chief minister Michael Gunner warned it may take further action if people don’t stick to the rules.

All non-essential arrivals in the state must self-quarantine for 14 days, and people are not allowed to visit remote communities.

Tasmania

Tasmania also has brought into law the two-person limit, with residents only allowed to leave home for essential reasons.

This includes shopping, exercising, and going to healthcare apppointments. 

Going to a vet is also allowed, as is going to school or caring for another person.  

Arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days. 

South Australia

SA has also stuck to the 10-person limit, with $1,000 on-the-spot fines for people who have a larger group.

Again, all arrivals into the state must self-isolate for 14 days.  

Girl, 17, who was fined $1,652 for going on a driving lesson with her mum has the penalty dropped – but police warn other L-platers won’t be so lucky 

A learner driver slapped with a $1652 fine for breaching coronavirus regulations is off the hook after a police review. 

Hunter Reynolds, 17, was issued a fine for learning to drive in wet conditions with her mother, Sharee, as the passenger on the weekend.

The duo had travelled about 30km from their Hampton home to Frankston in Victoria before a police officer pulled them over and said they were breaking the stage-three restriction rules. 

She was slapped with a huge fine but after publicly sharing their story, the police hierarchy reviewed the fine. 

But police say learner drivers should not be taking lessons under current COVID-19 restrictions, leaving open the possibility others may be fined in future.

 

Hunter Reynolds (pictured), 17, was issued a fine for learning to drive in wet conditions with her mother as the passenger on the weekend

The duo had travelled about 30km from their Hampton home to Frankston in Victoria before a police officer pulled them over and said they were breaking the stage-three restriction rules (pictured: Ms Reynolds with her mother, Sharee)

Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told 3AW on Tuesday that blatant rule-breakers should be fined but admitted there was community confusion.

‘We will withdraw it because clearly that wasn’t widely understood by the public,’ he said.

‘Undertaking a driving lesson by itself, to go out and simply drive off somewhere to undertake a driving lesson with your parent – you are not able to do it.’

The teenager was issued with a $1652 on-the-spot fine for breaching the stage three restrictions relating to COVID-19.

The teenager and her mother Sharee Reynolds felt she had done nothing wrong.

They had planned to fight the fine in court. 

She was slapped with a huge fine but after publicly sharing their story, the police hierarchy reviewed the fine

But police say learner drivers should not be taking lessons under current COVID-19 restrictions, leaving open the possibility others may be fined in future (pictured: Officers stopping drivers)

The infringement comes amid confusing enforcement of coronavirus restrictions around the country, which have seen thousands of beachgoers allowed to break social distancing rules while others have been penalised for taking a breather on a park bench while staying more than 1.5 metres apart. 

Her mother didn’t think taking a driving lesson was doing the wrong thing.

‘We weren’t in contact with any person, we weren’t stopping anywhere, we weren’t planning on visiting any destinations, we were just learning to drive in those conditions,’ Ms Reynolds said. 

Since last Monday, residents in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT have been banned from leaving home except for food and supplies, medical care, exercise, and work or education. 

Australian National University Medical School Professor Peter Collignon said the $1652 fine ‘doesn’t make biological sense’ considering the learner driver already lived with her mother.

‘They’re in the same house anyway,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.

‘How is it going to be any different if they go for a drive together?’ 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk