# Penalty unit

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{{Short description|Australian standard used to compute penalties for breaches of law}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}

thumb|Penalty units note in reg 256 of ROAD RULES 2014, New South Wales, Australia.
A '''penalty unit''' ('''PU''') is a standard amount of money used to compute penalties for many breaches of law in Australia at both the federal, and state and territory level. [Fines](/source/Fine_(penalty)) are calculated by multiplying the value of a penalty unit by the number of units prescribed for the offence. For example, if an offence was committed in New South Wales worth 100 units, the fine would be {{math|100 × $110 {{=}} $11,000}}.

Prior to the introduction of penalty units, fines and other charges were usually prescribed in terms of ordinary money. However, the effects of [inflation](/source/inflation) meant that originally substantial penalties eventually lost their worth. Frequent amendment of the many laws and regulations dealing with pecuniary penalties would be a very time-consuming process. Penalty units provide a quick and simple way to adjust many different fees and charges.

==Values ==
The different jurisdictions that make up Australia each set their own value of a penalty unit. The value as well as the manner and frequency of adjusting that value differ between jurisdictions.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Jurisdiction
!Penalty unit value
!Last updated
!Automatic indexation mechanism
|-
| rowspan="2" |[Australian Capital Territory](/source/Australian_Capital_Territory)
|{{AUD|160.00}} (individual)<ref name="act">{{Cite Legislation AU|ACT|act|la2001133|Legislation Act 2001|133}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |{{Date table sorting|8 November 2018}}
| rowspan="2" |Reviewed every four years.<ref name="act" />
|-
|{{AUD|810.00}} (companies)<ref name="act" />
|-
|[Commonwealth](/source/Australia)
|{{AUD|330.00}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Wallets at the ready: CCA penalty units increasing from today | date=7 November 2024 | url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5cc00ccc-dd47-43f5-8ede-68f3b847c9fa }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Fines and penalties | url=https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/asic-investigations-and-enforcement/fines-and-penalties/ }}</ref>{{update after|2026|7|1}}
|7 {{Date table sorting|November 2024}}
|{{ntsh|3}}Typically every three years on 1 July''',''' based on the All Groups [Consumer Price Index](/source/consumer_price_index), a weighted average of the CPI for all capital cities.<ref name="federal">{{cite web |date=6 October 2023 |title=Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), section 4AA (Penalty units) |url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2023C00279/Html/Volume_1#_Toc147495399 |accessdate=1 November 2023 |publisher=Federal Register of Legislation (Australia)}}</ref>
|-
|[New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales)
|{{AUD|110.00}}<ref name="nsw">{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1999/92/part2/div4/sec17|title=Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 No 92, section 17 (Penalty units)|publisher=NSW Legislation|date=26 September 2019|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref>
|{{Date table sorting|8 December 1999}}
|{{ntsh|0}}None. {{As of|2019|9|26}}, the value remains unchanged from the original ''Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999''.<ref name="nsw-1999-version">{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1999/92/historical1999-12-08/part2/div4/sec17|title=Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 No 92, section 17 (Penalty units)|publisher=NSW Legislation|date=8 December 1999|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref>
|-
|[Northern Territory](/source/Northern_Territory)
|{{AUD|189.00}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-01 |title=Penalty units |url=https://agd.nt.gov.au/attorney-general-and-justice/units-and-amounts/penalty-units |access-date=2 February 2026 |website=Attorney-General’s Department (Northern Territory) |language=en}}</ref>{{update after|2026|7|1}}
|{{Date table sorting|1 July 2025}}
|{{ntsh|1}}Annual on 1 July, based on CPI for [Darwin](/source/Darwin%2C_Northern_Territory).<ref name=":0" />
|-
|[Queensland](/source/Queensland)
|{{AUD|166.90}}<ref name="qld">{{cite web |title=Sentencing fines and penalties for offences |url=https://www.qld.gov.au/law/fines-and-penalties/types-of-fines/sentencing-fines-and-penalties-for-offences |accessdate=5 February 2026 |publisher=Queensland Government}}</ref>{{update after|2026|7|1}}
|{{Date table sorting|1 July 2025}}
|{{ntsh|1}}Annual on 1 July.<ref name="qld" />
|-
|[South Australia](/source/South_Australia)
|Not applicable
|—
|{{ntsh|0}}South Australia does not have a system of penalty units.<ref name="summary" /> Instead, legislation either lists specific fine amounts or maximum "divisional penalties" which form a [standard scale](/source/standard_scale).<ref name="sa">{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/ACTS%20INTERPRETATION%20ACT%201915/CURRENT/1915.1215.AUTH.PDF#page=16|title=Acts Interpretation Act 1915, section 28A (Standard scales for penalties and expiation fees)|publisher=South Australian Legislation|date=3 October 2017|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="sa-scale">{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/Web/Information/Divisional%20penalties%20and%20fees/DivisionalPenaltiesAndFees.aspx|title=Divisional penalties and fees|publisher=Attorney-General's Department (South Australia)|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref>
|-
|[Tasmania](/source/Tasmania_(Australia))
|{{AUD|205.00}}<ref name="tas">{{cite web |title=Value of Indexed Amounts in Legislation |url=http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/about/legislation/value_of_indexed_units_in_legislation |accessdate=5 February 2026 |publisher=Department of Justice (Tasmania)}}</ref>{{update after|2026|7|1}}
|{{Date table sorting|1 July 2025}}
|{{ntsh|1}}Annual on 1 July, based on CPI.<ref name="tas" />
|-
|[Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia))
|{{AUD|203.51}}<ref name="vic">{{Cite web |title=Penalties and values |url=https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/justice-system/fines-and-penalties/penalties-and-values |access-date=5 February 2026 |publisher=Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria |language=en}}</ref>{{update after|2026|7|1}}
|{{Date table sorting|1 July 2025}}
|{{ntsh|1}}Annual on 1 July.<ref name="vic" />
|-
|[Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia)
|Various
|—
|{{ntsh|0}}Penalty units are set for different categories of legislation.<ref name="summary">{{cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1617a/17bd082#_Toc478481888|last=McKay|first=Daniel|title=Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017|publisher=Parliament of Australia|date=28 March 2017|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref> Traffic offences generally incur a penalty unit of {{AUD|50}}.<ref name="wa">{{Cite web|url=https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/driving-offences-speeding-alcohol-and-traffic.asp|title=Driving offences (speeding, alcohol and traffic)|publisher=Department of Transport (Western Australia)|date=13 June 2019|accessdate=11 July 2020}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [Standard scale](/source/Standard_scale)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penalty Units}}
Category:Australian criminal law

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Penalty unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_unit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_unit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.