You can apply to cancel a sentence of reparation. The court may cancel the reparation or might replace it with another sentence.

How do I apply to cancel a sentence of reparation? 

You can only apply to cancel a sentence of reparation if you cannot afford to pay the reparation because your financial situation has changed significantly since the sentence was imposed. You can also appeal the sentence if the Judge did not adequately consider your financial situation in the original hearing, or imposed reparations that would take longer than 5 – 8 years for you to pay.

Court Registrars can also apply to cancel a sentence of reparation. Registrars can apply if they believe that the sentence is unenforceable because the offender provided false or misleading information about their financial situation that the court relied on when making the sentence of reparation, or for any other reason.

When will the court cancel a sentence of reparation? 

The court will only cancel a sentence of reparation if:

1. The person you are paying reparations to has been told about the application to cancel and been given an opportunity to respond, or is unable to be contacted; AND
2. If you are no longer able to afford the reparations or the Registrar believes the sentence is unenforceable; AND
3. The court believes that enforcement of the reparation is unlikely to be effective.

What happens after the sentence is cancelled? 

When a sentence of reparation is cancelled, the amount that is still owing is wiped (remitted).

The court can decide to substitute the sentence of reparation with a new sentence. The new sentence must be one that could have been imposed for your offence at the time you were originally convicted.

When considering a substitute sentence, the court must take into account:

1. The amount you have already paid and the amount that is still owing; and
2. Whether the original sentence of reparation was taken into account when deciding your other sentences.

If a Court Registrar applies to cancel your sentence of reparation because you provided false or misleading information about your financial position, the court may consider:

1. How misleading the information was; and
2. Your role in providing the information and whether you intended to mislead the court.

You can have fines “remitted” (cancelled or turned into prison time) by the District Court. For more information, see “The criminal court process”

Sometimes insurance companies try to collect a “civil debt” in relation to losses they say your offending caused (for example the value of items taken in a burglary). If you receive a letter from an insurance company, you have a few options:

• Ignore the letter. They might send more letters and eventually try to use debt collectors.
• If you agree that you should pay something, you could write and negotiate a lower amount that you can pay (or that you think is more accurate).
• If you can’t pay anything, you can write and tell them that. They might still choose to try to take debt collection action.