Existing Scheme

In March 2004 Western Australia (WA) introduced reforms of how police may prosecute minor cannabis offenders. It became the fourth Australian jurisdiction to permit offenders to expiate minor cannabis offences. The WA reforms share similarities with the approach to decriminalisation introduced in a number of other Australian jurisdictions – in each of which the underlying prohibition on cannabis remains.

The cannabis infringement notice (CIN) scheme commenced on 22 March 2004 in accordance with the provisions of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 (CCA), which was passed by the West Australian parliament in September 2003. The CIN scheme provides that a CIN may be issued by a police officer as an alternative to charging someone who has committed any one of the following expiable offences specified in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981:

• possession of a smoking implement with detectable traces of cannabis (penalty $100);
• use of or possession of not more than 15 grams of cannabis (penalty $100);
• use of or possession of more than 15 grams and not more than 30 grams of cannabis (penalty $150); and
• cultivation of not more than two non-hydroponically grown cannabis plants at a person’s principal place of residence (penalty $200).

If a person successfully expiates a CIN by paying the relevant penalty or alternatively by completing a cannabis education session (CES) within 28 days of it being issued, no further action will occur and a conviction will not be recorded. (There are close parallels between this approach towards dealing with minor cannabis offences outside the court system and of how minor traffic offences are also dealt with by infringement notice.) In addition to the prescribed methods of expiation, there is also the third option of electing to challenge the offence in a Court of Petty Sessions (CPS) within 28 days.

Attendance at a CES does not involve the payment of any fees by the person and completion of a single session will expiate all CINs that had been issued for committing any expiable offences on the same occasion.

A final demand will be issued by the police if a CIN is not expiated within the first 28 days of it being issued. (Note: However, if a person fails to attend a CES within the first 28 days, he/she can only expiate by payment of the relevant penalty.)

If a person fails to respond to the final demand issued by the police within a further 28 days, enforcement is transferred to the Fines Enforcement Registry (FER), where the provisions of Part 3 of the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994 (FPINEA) apply to the recovery of unpaid infringement notices. An administrative fee of $13.00 is incurred at this point if there is a failure to comply with the final demand issued by the police.

When enforcement of an unpaid CIN passes to the FER an administrative fee of $52.00 is incurred when it is registered with the FER. As the FER is also responsible for the enforcement of other types of unpaid traffic fines and infringement notices, the same administrative charges also apply to the recovery of unpaid CINs. This also means each separate unexpiated CIN will incur administrative fees.

After registration with FER a court order is issued requiring payment of the outstanding CIN plus administrative charges within 28 days. If a person fails to respond to this demand for full payment, they have the option of entering into an agreement with FER to satisfy the outstanding debt by instalment, by signing a time to pay (TTP) arrangement. If a person fails to enter into a TTP arrangement they will be issued with a notice to suspend their motor driver’s license (MDL).

If a TTP is not completed within a specified time, a notice FER will issue a notice to a person that they intend to suspend their MDL. At this point, if the debt owed is not paid, the person’s MDL remains suspended until they pay the outstanding amount in full. A further administrative fee of $27.50 is levied when suspension of a person’s MDL is confirmed by FER. The fines enforcement process does not, however, permit enforcement of unpaid infringement notices through imprisonment. (Note: Imprisonment for failure to pay is only applicable in relation to actions for the enforcement of unpaid fines under Part 4 of the FPINEA.)

Failure to expiate a CIN by not complying with the enforcement phase administered by the police (ie first 28 days) and by failing to comply with all stages of the FER process, means that a person will incur a total of $92.50 in administrative fees, in addition to the original outstanding value of the penalty owing for each unpaid CIN.

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