Appeal an infringement notice

The following information relates to all infringement notices issued by Council except for parking fines. If you wish to request a review of a parking fine please visit Request a parking fine review.

You can appeal an infringement notice:

• if you believe your infringement notice was issued in error
• if there are exceptional circumstances
• if you wish to nominate another person.

Please read the information below before appealing your infringement notice.

If you want to appeal an infringement notice, you must lodge the appeal:

• before paying the fine
• before the due date of the payment.

The appeal must be submitted by the person who received the infringement notice unless another person or agent is authorised to act on the person's behalf (evidence must be provided of this authority).

Applications for an appeal must be made in the approved form and have all necessary evidence attached.

Reasons for appeal

A request for an appeal must be based on one of the following grounds:

1. Elements of offence not met – if you believe the facts concerning the alleged offence are incorrect. You must attach all relevant supporting evidence with your appeal.
2. Incorrect person named as offender – if the vehicle/land/animal involved in the offence was not in your control at the time. You must complete and attach a Statutory Declaration with your appeal. Include the name and address of the person in control of the vehicle/land/animal and/or attach a copy of the disposal notice or police report.
3. Exceptional circumstances – if committing the offence was unavoidable such as a medical emergency occurred. You must attach any relevant supporting evidence such as a medical certificate with your appeal.

We do not withdraw infringement notices for these reasons:

• financial hardship (for fines over $200 you may apply to pay in instalments)
• being unaware of the law or not seeing a sign
• disagreeing with the law – you feel the offence is trivial or did not cause a problem to anyone
• forgetting to pay a registration/permit fee
• dog was under control despite not being on a leash
• not knowing that a permit was required
• having since complied with a notice or obtained a permit
• emergency works that do not fall within the definition and required action of emergency works, e.g. section 166 of Planning Act 2016.

Evidence needed

Depending on the type of infringement notice issued, you should include the following evidence with your application:

• a copy of the infringement notice (or at least the number), vehicle registration number, date and time of incident
• grounds for any legal defence or detail of exceptional circumstances
• detail of the error on the infringement notice
• photographs or diagrams
• a copy of valid permits
• written advice or crime report from Queensland Police Service.

How to submit an appeal

Appeals will only be accepted if submitted online or by completing the application form.

An appeal must be made:

• prior to payment of the fine
• prior to the due date, and
• by the person who received the infringement notice unless another person or agent is authorised to act on the person's behalf (evidence of this authority must be provided).