If you've been reported

Where litter is thrown or dropped from a motor vehicle, the Environment Protection Act 1970 deems the driver of the vehicle, the registered owner of the vehicle and any person authorised by the registered owner to use the vehicle at that time to be guilty of the offence of depositing litter.

It is EPA policy to issue the infringement notice to the registered owner. If the registered owner was not the person responsible, they may send EPA a statutory declaration containing any one of the following sets of information, depending on the circumstances:

• Send EPA a statutory declaration stating that they did not throw/drop the litter and naming the person who they saw do it. The declaration must also include the name and address of the person who did it – or, if the name and/or address is not known, an explanation of why it is not known.

• Send EPA a statutory declaration stating that they did not throw/drop the litter and that they did not see who did. The declaration must also include the name and address, if known, of any person who was in or near the vehicle at the time – or, if those details are not known, an explanation of why.

• Registered owners to whom an infringement notice is issued may send EPA a statutory declaration stating that they did not throw/drop the litter and naming the person who was authorised by the registered owner to use the vehicle at the time. The declaration must include the name and address of that authorised person. This would include circumstances where the vehicle is a company vehicle or where someone has borrowed the vehicle from the registered owner.

• Where any person who has been issued with an infringement notice wishes EPA to consider any other relevant facts relating to the offence, including facts, which they say could disprove the reported litter offence, the person must include those facts in a statutory declaration.

Note: All the above options require a statutory declaration (see below). An ordinary letter, fax or e-mail is not acceptable.

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Statutory declarations

The Evidence Act 1958 governs the use of statutory declarations. Any person who knowingly makes a false statutory declaration commits an offence and this offence carries significant penalties including imprisonment.

Download a statutory declaration (PDF 25kB)

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Fines

Please note, EPA only enforces fines for litter from motor vehicles. As of the 1st of July, 2008 fines for throwing litter from a car are as follows:

• On the spot fine - $227
• In court - $4537

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