Product Code Database
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 are calculated by multiplying the value of a penalty unit by the number of units prescribed for the offence. For example, if a crime was committed in New South Wales worth 100 units, the fine would be .
Prior to the introduction of penalty units, fines and other charges were usually prescribed in terms of ordinary money. However, the effects of 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.
| Commonwealth | 7 | Typically every three years on 1 July , based on the All Groups Consumer Price Index, a weighted average of the CPI for all capital cities. | |
| Victoria | Annual on 1 July. | ||
| New South Wales | None. , the value remains unchanged from the original Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. | ||
| Queensland | Annual on 1 July. | ||
| Tasmania | Annual on 1 July, based on CPI. | ||
| Northern Territory | Annual on 1 July, based on CPI for Darwin. | ||
| Australian Capital Territory | (individual) | Reviewed every four years. | |
| (companies) | |||
| Western Australia | Various | — | Penalty units are set for different categories of legislation. Traffic offences generally incur a penalty unit of . |
| South Australia | Not applicable | — | South Australia does not have a system of penalty units. Instead, legislation either lists specific fine amounts or maximum "divisional penalties" which form a standard scale. |
|
|
