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Apply for internal review

If you have received an infringement notice, you can apply to have your case reviewed by Monash University. This is called an internal review.

Requesting an internal review

An application for internal review needs to be in writing and submitted via the online application form. All applications must:

include the infringement number.
state the grounds for review (see more information below).
provide current address details (include room number if you are a residential student).
contain letter of consent, or other evidence of consent, if done on behalf of a third party.
include supporting documents to corroborate the grounds for review. For example, parking transaction history, letters from doctors, Centrelink details, Police reports and evidence of mechanical breakdowns. Not providing sufficient information may influence the outcome of your internal review.

Only one application for internal review can be made regarding any one infringement offence. Therefore, please ensure you include all relevant information and evidence in the application form.

Who can apply for internal review?

You can personally apply to have your case reviewed by Monash University, or you can authorise another person (such as a family member, a friend, support worker or solicitor) to make an application for an internal review on your behalf.

To provide consent for someone to act on your behalf please download and complete the Consent for internal review form. Your authorised third party will need to upload the completed form as part of the internal review application.

An authorised third party must be over 18 years of age. You do not need to authorise another person if:

the person acting on your behalf is your lawyer, or
the person has a power of attorney or other court ordered arrangement, which is current and covers making decisions in relation to infringement matters.

Grounds for review

You can request an internal review if you believe:

the decision to serve the infringement notice was contrary to law.
the decision to serve the infringement notice involved a mistake of identity.
you had special circumstances, as defined in legislation.
you did it, but you had exceptional circumstances.
you were unaware of receiving an infringement notice.
you meet the University’s defined additional circumstances.

You will need to specify which ground you are applying under within your application for internal review. Further detailed information about each ground is outlined below.

If you wish to apply under more than one grounds for review, please select the best suited grounds on the application form and then specify other ground/s in the free text field of the application form.

You believe you parked legally and that no parking offence took place. For example, you believe timed parking restrictions do not apply in the area you were parked.
As part of your application you will need to provide the reasons why you consider the decision to issue you with an Infringement was unlawful (e.g. the Infringement was not valid). Supporting documentation may be required as evidence.
You believe the infringement notice was issued to the incorrect person or vehicle. For example, you were not in the location or your registration number was recorded incorrectly.
As part of your application you will need to provide an explanation of why you believe there was a mistake of identity (including evidence in support, such as a copy of your driver’s licence).
Special circumstances apply if the person who received the infringement notice was affected at the time of the offence by:
- homelessness
- family violence (which results in the person being unable to control conduct which constitutes an offence)
- a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness, that contributes to the person having a significantly reduced capacity to:
  - understand that conduct constitutes an offence; or
  - control conduct that constitutes an offence
- a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol or volatile substance, that may mean they:
  - didn’t understand that the behaviour was against the law; or
  - couldn’t control the behaviour that was against the law
- person has a long-term condition or circumstance that:
  - makes it impracticable for the person to deal with their fine, and
  - does not solely or predominantly relate to financial hardship
Supporting documentation will be required as evidence for an application on grounds of special circumstances. The evidence (e.g. letter, report, statement, statutory declaration, invoice, hospital record, doctors note relating the medical condition to the infringement) must link the special circumstances to the infringement offence and be from one of the following parties:
- a case worker, case manager, or social worker
- a general practitioner, psychiatrist or psychologist, or
- an accredited drug treatment agency
Exceptional circumstances apply if unforeseen or unpreventable circumstances outside your control led to the issuing of an infringement notice. For example:
a medical emergency
mechanical breakdown
temporarily parking a damaged vehicle immediately following an incident
stolen vehicle
Supporting documentation will be required as evidence for an application on grounds of exceptional circumstances. For example:
for a medical emergency, please provide a letter from the hospital or treating medical practitioner.
for a mechanical breakdown or vehicle incident, please provide an invoice for towing or mechanical/roadside assistance.
for a stolen vehicle, a copy of the police report.
The evidence (e.g. letter, report, statement) must link the exceptional circumstances to the infringement offence.
You were unaware of receiving the infringement notice. For example, you did not receive the infringement notice directly (on your vehicle or in person).
An application made on the ground of ‘person unaware’ must:
- be made within 14 days of you becoming aware of the infringement notice (you may evidence the date that you became aware of the infringement notice by executing a statutory declaration)
- state the grounds on which the decision should be reviewed, and
- provide your current address for service.
A successful application for person unaware will only remove the penalty reminder fee.
To be considered for a full review of the infringement apply under a second ground (e.g. Universities additional circumstances) and provide relevant information and evidence.
In addition to the grounds for review identified in the Infringement Act 2006, the University may consider a limited number of additional circumstances as grounds to apply for internal review if a warning has not been issued previously. This may include, but is not limited to, cases where:
- You forgot to start your OPark session
- Forgot to renew 28-day vPermit (staff only)
- You did not activate the correct registration on your OPark account/vPermit.
- Incorrect registration number entered in payment application (e.g. letter I instead of number 1).
Supporting documentation will be required as evidence for an application on grounds of additional circumstances. Please provide either:
- a copy of your confirmation of purchase email or a screenshot of your valid parking session/permit, or
- a copy of your parking history from the OPark account, showing at least three past parking sessions

Supporting documentation

In most cases supporting documentation will be required to accompany an application for internal review.

Documentation can be supplied in PDF, JPEG, PNG, DOC, DOCX or ZIP format in up to four (4) separate files per application (maximum size of 5MB each).

Please ensure all relevant documentation is included in your application as you can only submit one application per infringement notice.

Examples of supporting documentation

All supporting documentation must be relevant to the infringement notice and attached to the internal review form when submitting.

Failure to provide supporting documentation may result in a delay in the process or a decision being made without it.

Reason	Examples	Supporting Documentation
Contrary to law	Contradictory parking restriction signs. Incorrect offence recorded.	Evidence (such as photos) or detailed information detailing why you believe an offence was not committed.
Mistake of identity	You were not in the location specified on the infringement An incorrect location was listed on the infringement The vehicle's registration details are incorrect	Evidence you were not the driver of the vehicle at the time. The vehicle owner will need to nominate the correct driver using a Driver Nomination Form. Evidence the vehicle was at a different location at the time. Evidence that the offence location is incorrect.
Special circumstances	'Special circumstances' as defined under the Infringements Act	Evidence from your medical practitioner or social worker that your condition renders you unable to understand the law or control your conduct at the time of the infringement.
Medical emergency	Unexpectedly attending a hospital emergency department or urgent medical incident.	A letter from the hospital emergency department or doctor/specialist attending the medical emergency.
Vehicle broken down	An unforeseen vehicle breakdown resulting in repair work or towing of the vehicle.	A copy of the towing documentation or a statutory declaration from the attending mechanic with details of the mechanical issue, the date of the mechanical breakdown and why the vehicle could not be towed.
Incorrect vehicle registration entered	Incorrectly activated the wrong vehicle registration on the OPark app/vPermit website.	A copy of your parking history from the OPark app/vPermit website that shows the date and vehicle registration used.
OPark app technical issues	You believe there was a technical issue or fault with the OPark app on the date of your offence.	Written confirmation of an issue with your app from OPark Support which can be obtained by contacting OPark support on ph.6160 1012 (press 0 to contact support) or email support@opark.com.au

Application submission

Applications for internal review may be submitted using an online form or by post.

Before beginning the application please ensure you have all required information ready, including:

your infringement number, vehicle registration number, current address details and offence date
completed consent form (if you are acting on behalf of the driver)
your nominated ground for internal review
supporting documentation in required format

Please allow 15 minutes to complete your application.

Apply for internal review

If you are unable to submit a request via the online form, you may print an application form and submit by post.
Please ensure to attach copies of supporting evidence with your application.
Completed application forms may be posted to:
- Monash University
  GPO Box 425
  Melbourne VIC 3001

Only one (1) application for internal review can be made regarding any one infringement offence. Please ensure you include all relevant information and evidence in your application.

The internal review process may take up to 90 days, or longer if additional information is required from you. The University will notify you of the outcome in writing to the postal address you provided.

Your infringement notice will be placed on hold while the review is conducted. This means you do not have to pay the infringement notice until a decision is made.

Frequently asked questions

An application for internal review can be made at any time before the offence is registered with Fines Victoria, or before the expiry of the period for bringing a proceeding to court in relation to the offence.
Any application made on the ground of “person unaware” must be made within 14 days of becoming aware of the infringement notice.
Your infringement notice will be placed on hold while the review is conducted. This means you do not have to pay the infringement notice until a decision is made.
The internal review process may take up to 90 days, or longer if additional information is required from you. The University will notify you of the outcome in writing to the postal address you provided.
If insufficient information is provided, you may be asked to provide additional information. If the University does not receive this information by the specified date, it will make a decision based on the information it already has.
When reviewing an infringement notice, Monash University will consider all of the available information, including:
- Information collected by the officer who issued the infringement notice, which includes photographs.
- Information from parking systems such as OPark, vPermit, parking meters
- The circumstances and any supporting information provided in your application.
- Requirements under the relevant legislation.
In conducting the review of your application, the University may write to you to request additional information if the original application is not sufficient. The letter will explain how to provide the additional information.
You will have 14 days in which to respond to the request. If you do not respond your application may be reviewed based on the information available.
If you are unable to provide the additional information within the specified time you may ask for an extension of time. You may submit a request in writing by following the instructions provided to you on how to supply additional information. The University will advise you in writing if your request for extension of time has been granted.
Upon completion of your internal review, the University may:
- withdraw the infringement notice and take no further action
- withdraw the infringement notice and issue an official warning instead
- refer the matter to the Magistrates' Court (or the Children's Court if you're under 18)
- waive or vary any fees associated with the infringement notice
- waive or vary any additional steps imposed by the infringement notice
- approve a payment plan
- confirm the decision to issue you with the infringement notice
- or any combination of the above actions
If the internal review is refused, you will receive a notice in the mail to confirm:
- Monash University's decision
- how much you need to pay
- when you need to pay it by
Your remaining options will be outlined in the letter sent to you, and a new payment date will be set.
If you do not pay the infringement notice or take any other action (for example, request a payment extension or elect to have the matter heard at court) by the new due date, the infringement notice will continue through the infringements process and additional costs will be added. This process is set out in the Infringements Act 2006.
If the infringement remains unpaid after reminder notices have been sent and it reaches the end of the standard infringement lifecycle, it may be registered with Fines Victoria. Once this happens the University will no longer be involved in any process regarding the infringement notice.
As the legislation allows you to only make one application for review, the University will not consider further correspondence regarding an infringement notice.

Matters referred to court

You may request that your matter be referred to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria (MCV) or the Children’s Court, even if you have made an application for an internal review. If this occurs the processing of the internal review application will be terminated by the University.

More information about electing to go to Court is available here.

Further information

For more information about the internal review process for infringement notices issued in Victoria, see Request a review - Fines Victoria.

Apply for internal review

Requesting an internal review

Who can apply for internal review?

Grounds for review

Supporting documentation

Application submission

Frequently asked questions

Matters referred to court

Further information

Other information