From June 2022 to January 2023 a systems error led to a small number of EPA Victoria's authorised officers operating without their full appointment of power for up to three years.
EPA detected the issue in September this year and launched a thorough investigation into the matter.
Since June 2022, EPA has issued more than 45,000 fines and this error has impacted only a small fraction of fines issued by EPA since June 2022. EPA Victoria is refunding around 2,000 fines, separately withdrawing about 2,100 unpaid fines and redressing 19 finalised prosecutions.
We are refunding $1.4 million in fines and around $650,000 in court penalties and costs due to the systems error. EPA Victoria will absorb the costs in paying back the fines and court penalties and costs to those parties impacted by the error.
EPA has investigated thoroughly and confirmed the fines that are now invalid. The infringements are limited to litter infringements, vehicle infringements and environmental infringements regarding reporting, permission and waste offences.
EPA Victoria Interim CEO, Joss Crawford said the processes that led to this incident have already been rectified.
''As soon as the error was detected, we launched a full investigation into our systems, fixed the issue and installed extra checks to prevent this from happening again."
"We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, and we will refund the fines and costs of those caught up in this regrettable situation."
"Our systems are fixed and the issue impacts only a fraction of our work."
EPA has started the process of writing to the affected parties, informing them of the refund process or status of finalised prosecutions.
The systems error meant some officers were invalidly appointed. It impacted 25 officers' authority to issue certain types of fines and commence court action.
The officers still employed at EPA now have their correct authorisation. There is no question of the capability of EPA staff, or the decisions and actions they took.
