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Law Current to: October 7, 2025

What is SPER?

The State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) is a division of the Queensland Revenue Office. It was established by the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 to provide the Queensland Government with a more efficient, largely automated fine collection and enforcement scheme.

SPER collects and enforces unpaid fines, penalties and monetary court orders on behalf of various Queensland agencies and courts. It does not collect private debts. The functions of SPER are to:

  • collect amounts payable to SPER under the Act or other acts;
  • administer the making of enforcement orders; and
  • take enforcement actions under the Act.

Those functions of SPER must be balanced with the SPER Charter, which includes:

  • maximise the collection for victims of offences of amounts ordered to be paid under the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992;
  • maximising the amount of fines and other money penalties paid before enforcement action is taken;
  • promoting a philosophy that non-monetary satisfaction of SPER debts is for the needy in the community (but not alternative for those who can afford to pay the fine);
  • reducing the use of imprisonment for fine default; and
  • promoting public education about obligations of offenders and the consequences of not satisfying obligations.

SPER does not collect private debts. There are three types of government debts referred to SPER for collection: infringement notices, court order fines and penalties, and victim of crime payments.

Infringement notices

Infringement notices are issued by non-court agencies, including:

  • Department of Transport and Main Roads (including fines issued by Queensland Police Service, Road Safety Camera Office and Queensland Rail)
  • Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
  • Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation
  • local government authorities
  • universities
  • port authorities
  • hospital boards

Once issued, a person has 28 days to pay the fine in full, contest the fine, or set up a voluntary instalment plan.

If no action is taken, the fine is registered with SPER and a registration fee is added.

Court-ordered fines and penalties

If a person is found guilty of an offence, a court may impose a fine as part of the penalty. A court may also impose a compensation or restitution order.

When a person is found guilty, an offender levy is automatically imposed.

Once the penalty is entered in the court’s system, the amount required to be paid is registered with SPER for collection. Court order penalties do not attract SPER registration fees.

Victims of crime payments

If a person is convicted of the act of violence in Queensland, the government may seek to recover from the offender a portion of:

  • any criminal injury compensation order
  • any financial assistance the government paid the victim-survivor under the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009

To recovery these amounts, the government will first send the offender a recovery notice from the offender debt recovery program.

If the amount remains unpaid, the offender debt recovery program scheme manager can register the debt with SPER for collection. These debts do not attract SPER registration fees.

Payments made by the offender to SPER under the offender debt recovery program are not paid to the victim of violence. Rather, they are paid to the State to recover amounts already paid by the State to the victim.

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