May 26, 2021
A team of enforcement officers from the State Penalties Enforcement Registry has been hard at work in the South Burnett this week, targeting people who refuse to pay their SPER debts.
The debts are unpaid fines and penalties registered with SPER for collection and enforcement.
They can include unpaid speeding tickets and court-ordered fines.
SPER can seize vehicles or other property and garnishee wages or bank accounts to recover debts.
Over the past week eight vehicles have been seized across the Wide Bay-Burnett.
If their owners do not make arrangements to repay the debt within 14 days, the vehicles can be sold at auction.
Another 15 vehicles were immobilised with wheel clamps until their owners made arrangements with SPER to repay the debt.
SPER Operations and Enforcement Manager Kim Easton said SPER officers had been contacting local debtors ahead of the Wide Bay-Burnett operation to remind them of their debt and how best to deal with it.
“SPER has actively contacted more than 5000 debtors across the region in the last week to give them the opportunity to deal with their debt before we have to take stronger action,” he said.
Mr Easton emphasised SPER only took enforcement action where debtors refused to pay and had ignored multiple opportunities to do something about their debt.
“It’s important to note that enforcement action comes at the end of a long process once debtors have received multiple opportunities to do the right thing.
“We encourage anyone with a SPER debt to pay or they could face serious consequences.”
Mr Easton said SPER had collected more than $11 million from debtors in the Wide Bay region in the 12 months to the end of March.
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