Fines and young people

When you can be fined

If you get a fine when you are under 18, there are different rules that apply to you.

You can't get a fine if you are under 10.

Generally, fines are not given to children under 14.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) can't suspend your driver's licence or vehicle registration for not paying a fine, unless it was for a traffic offence.

You can't be fined more than 10 penalty units for an offence by the Children's Court of NSW. The maximum fine amounts and enforcement costs for young people are set by law and can change over time.  For up to date information about fine amounts and overdue fine fees, see What happens if you don't pay your fine? on the NSW Government website. 

If you receive a court fine, the court can order that you don’t need to pay a court costs levy as well.

For more information on the court costs, see Costs in fines cases.

Going to court

If you want to challenge your fine in court, your case will usually be heard in the children's court.

If you are going to the children's court, you should get legal advice.

The local court will hear your case if it is a traffic offence and at the time you were fined, you were:

• 16 or older (for traffic offences involving cars), or
• 16 years and 9 months or older (for traffic offences involving motorbikes).

For more information, see Going to court for a fine.

What happens if you don't pay

If you receive a fine, you should deal with it as soon as possible. Don’t ignore your fine. Even if you don’t want to take your fine to court, you have other options for dealing with your fine.

• If you don’t deal with your fine, it will become an overdue fine. Revenue NSW can take action against you to collect the amount that you owe.

Your parents aren’t responsible for your fines. If you don’t pay your fines, Revenue NSW can't take recovery action against your parents.

For more information, see What if you do nothing about your fine

Last updated: August 2026