Form 80 - q36 - had any outstanding debts ?

[Luca12]

Hi Guys,

I am on a TR visa in Aus and am filling form-80 for my PR application. For question 36, in the last part, there is a question which needs to be answered in yes or no. The question is: "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia?

Background:
I live in VIC and received a speeding fine, speeding above 10km/hr but less than 15km/hr. Someone knowingly falsely nominated me and I applied for a rejection of nomination but due to lack of knowledge, (since I am dealing with something like this for the first time) I did not attach a stat declaration. Because of this the Traffic Camera Office did not accept my rejection and posted a letter to my address which I did not see and then after a couple of months I went overseas for a trip. On the day of my departure, the Fines Vic issued a penalty reminder notice, this had expired before my arrival to Aus. When I went to check the post after my arrival, I found the notice of final demand and all the other letters, I wasn't expecting this.
The next day, I went to Fines Vic office on Williams street and the operator told me that there is nothing I can do now since the fine is in Final Demand stage. I was baffled after listening to him, went back to my office, very distressed as I had no idea how I ended up in this situation. So, the following day I went to the Victoria Police, Traffic Camera Office. There I spoke with my case officer from admin support, she asked me to go to court for an extract to get an extension for the infringement and based on the evidence, I was granted the extension. I then applied again for a rejection of nomination, this time with a stat declaration but the Traffic Camera Office again did not accept it. The car was registered under a company and I had to provide them (Traffic Camera Office) with a retraction letter from the company which I never got. So I ended up paying the fine.

My Question:
1: Is a speeding fine in the Final Demand stage which has been paid in full by me, considered as an outstanding debt?
2: Will a National Police Check certificate, state/mention me going to magistrates court to get an extract for extension of infringement?

I will be really thankful to anyone who can help me get out of this dilemma.

Best,
Luca

[Ausvisitor]

8 hours ago, Luca12 said:

Hi Guys,

I am on a TR visa in Aus and am filling form-80 for my PR application. For question 36, in the last part, there is a question which needs to be answered in yes or no. The question is: "had any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or any public authority in Australia?

Background:
I live in VIC and received a speeding fine, speeding above 10km/hr but less than 15km/hr. Someone knowingly falsely nominated me and I applied for a rejection of nomination but due to lack of knowledge, (since I am dealing with something like this for the first time) I did not attach a stat declaration. Because of this the Traffic Camera Office did not accept my rejection and posted a letter to my address which I did not see and then after a couple of months I went overseas for a trip. On the day of my departure, the Fines Vic issued a penalty reminder notice, this had expired before my arrival to Aus. When I went to check the post after my arrival, I found the notice of final demand and all the other letters, I wasn't expecting this.
The next day, I went to Fines Vic office on Williams street and the operator told me that there is nothing I can do now since the fine is in Final Demand stage. I was baffled after listening to him, went back to my office, very distressed as I had no idea how I ended up in this situation. So, the following day I went to the Victoria Police, Traffic Camera Office. There I spoke with my case officer from admin support, she asked me to go to court for an extract to get an extension for the infringement and based on the evidence, I was granted the extension. I then applied again for a rejection of nomination, this time with a stat declaration but the Traffic Camera Office again did not accept it. The car was registered under a company and I had to provide them (Traffic Camera Office) with a retraction letter from the company which I never got. So I ended up paying the fine.

My Question:
1: Is a speeding fine in the Final Demand stage which has been paid in full by me, considered as an outstanding debt?
2: Will a National Police Check certificate, state/mention me going to magistrates court to get an extract for extension of infringement?

I will be really thankful to anyone who can help me get out of this dilemma.

Best,
Luca

If it is paid in full then it is no longer outstanding. If it was there but you were refusing to pay it then it would be outstanding (in this case outstanding just means unpaid)

[Luca12]

Thanks for your reply Ausvisitor. I totally agree with you that the fine is no longer outstanding but the question being asked on Form 80 is if i have ever had (could be paid in full now) any outstanding debts.

So probably I should be asking, is any fine considered a debt or at what stage does a fine becomes an outstanding debt ? I appreciate your response .

Best