The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on our election commitment to make offenders contribute to the cost of running the court system.
Today we tabled the Costs of Criminal Convictions Bill 2015, which will see offenders pay criminal conviction costs of $50 when sentenced by the Magistrates Court and $150 when sentenced by the Supreme Court.
The money collected from convicted offenders will contribute to the total cost of running courts and the justice system.
Other jurisdictions such as Queensland and NSW have a similar regime in place to help pay for the cost of the court case.
The criminal justice system is a significant expense and it is appropriate that convicted offenders contribute directly to the cost.
Criminal conviction costs will be imposed at the time of sentencing. If a person is sentenced for more than one offence in the same sentencing proceeding, they will only have to pay the criminal conviction costs once.
The criminal conviction costs are separate from a sentence, and cannot be waived or converted to a fine or imprisonment.
The Liberal Government is pleased to be delivering on another election commitment.
Vanessa Goodwin, Attorney-General
