Sonia Hickey, journalist, and Ugur Nedim, Principal Lawyer at Sydney Criminal Lawyers, share how the death of a young woman, who was in custody due to unpaid fines, has led to legislative reforms.
Yamatji woman, Ms Dhu (whose name is not used for cultural reasons) was just 22 years old when she was dragged from her police cell at South Headland in Western Australia and bundled into the back of a police van, before being taken to a nearby hospital. It was her third visit to hospital in as many days. She died several hours later.
A post-mortem found that Ms Dhu died of septicaemia and pneumonia caused by broken ribs. During an inquest into her death, the Western Australian Coroner found that the actions of police – who thought Ms Dhu was “faking it”, had been both “unprofessional and inhumane” and that the woman could have survived if she had been given proper care.
Ms Dhu had been imprisoned for owing $3,662.34 in unpaid fines.
Changing the law
The tragedy has led changes in the law, with the Western Australian Parliament introducing legislation which will significantly limit the circumstances whereby individuals can be imprisoned for the non-payment of fines.
The state’s attorney general, John Quigley, acknowledged that Ms Dhu’s death was the catalyst for the reforms, but many remain frustrated that the laws were ever in place, and that reform has taken so long. Ms Dhu died in 2014.
433 people were imprisoned for unpaid fines in Western Australia last year, at a cost of $1.56 million to the taxpayer. A disproportionate number of those imprisoned were Indigenous.
The new legislation
Until now, the fines enforcement registry has been empowered to issue arrest warrants for unpaid fines. This meant police could arrest a debtor and hold them in a cell until their largest fine was “cut out” via time served, at a rate of $250 a day.
The new laws will change this practice.
The Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Amendment Bill 2019 (WA) – now passed by state Parliament – amends the Sentencing Administration Act 2003 (WA) and Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) in a way that essentially cancels all unserved warrants for unpaid fines.
However, the state will still be able to imprison debtors in “strict circumstances”, where a warrant is issued directly by a magistrate.
The new laws also allow the Sheriff to issue orders to a person’s employer or bank to garnish unpaid fines from their salary or bank account, through the introduction of garnishee orders, or Centrelink payments if given Commonwealth approval.
These types of ‘forced withdrawals’ are meant to only occur if a person has more than the “protected amount” in their account, to avoid undue financial hardship.
New hardship provisions will require authorities to consider a person’s mental illness, disability, experience of family violence, homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and overall financial situation when deciding whether to garnish funds.
Cancelling the driver licence of a person with an unpaid debt will also be prohibited where he or she lives in a remote area.
Considerations for hardship
Attorney General Quigley says the new laws have been crafted to draw a distinction between people who can pay their fines but refuse to do so, and the many experiencing hardship who cannot pay and should not face enforcement measures that further entrench them in poverty.
Mandatory Custody Notification Service
Another reform sparked by Ms Dhu’s death is the introduction of a mandatory Custody Notification Service (CNS), which is scheduled to become operational in WA later this year.
The CNS is already in operation in other states, including New South Wales and Victoria. It was implemented in the Northern Territory last year.
The CNS was a recommendation of the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and since its inception, it has been widely credited with saving lives.
By law, police must contact an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service (ATSILS) if they have an Indigenous person in custody, not just so the person can receive legal advice but also access mental health or general health services if necessary too.
Sonia Hickey is a freelance writer, magazine journalist and owner of ‘Woman with Words’. She has a strong interest in social justice, and is a member of the Sydney Criminal Lawyers® content team.
Ugur Nedim is the Principal of Sydney Criminal Lawyers®.
He has a distinguished career as an exceptional criminal defence lawyer and has been recognised by the Law Society of NSW as an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 2005.
Mr Nedim commenced his criminal defence career in 1992 as a law clerk with specialist criminal law firm Brezniak Neil-Smith and Co, under the mentorship of legendary criminal defence lawyer Angus Neil-Smith (now retired).
He began practising as a courtroom criminal defence lawyer in 1998; independently representing clients in a range of criminal & traffic cases.
He regularly conducted difficult & complex defended hearings, trials and appeals, achieving an outstanding success rate.
He started ‘Nedim Lawyers – Criminal Defence Specialists’ in 2001, which later became ‘Sydney Criminal Lawyers®‘.
He attained the coveted certification of Accredited Criminal Law Specialist in 2005 and has maintained that certification ever since.
Mr Nedim has represented clients in some of Australia’s highest profile and most difficult and complex criminal cases, including:
- Australia’s biggest ever heroin importation trial, which involved the importation of over 600 kg of heroin; all 3 clients found not guilty (3 co-accused, represented by other criminal law firms, were found guilty);
- Over thirty murder & manslaughter trials, including several arising from the ‘gangland wars’ in Western Sydney;
- Over 100 other serious criminal trials including dozens of commercial drug trials, complex fraud trials, sexual assault trials, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm, various forms of robbery and kidnapping, intent to murder, dangerous driving occasioning death/GBH, money laundering – cases spanning of the gamut of serious crime;
- Representing companies and individuals over allegations of corporate crime and through ASIC investigations, anti money laundering allegations, accusations of bribery and other forms of corruption, fraud and ‘white collar’ crime,
- Protecting client interests in all types of courts and tribunals, including the NSW ICAC, the Australian and NSW Crime Commissions & Coroner Courts;
- Protecting client assets in Supreme Court criminal assets recovery cases, in association with criminal proceedings for money laundering and proceeds of crime;
- Successful Appeals at every level – from the Local Court, to hundreds in the District & Supreme Courts (including NSWCCA) all the way up to the High Court of Australia.
He has represented numerous well-known senior executives including CEOs of some of Australia’s largest corporations, as well as senior executives of multi-nationals with offices in Australia, several sporting stars including footballers and Olympic Athletes, actors on the international stage and professionals including lawyers, state and federal politicians and corporations suspected of regulatory breaches and criminal offences including against anti-money laundering and corporations legislation, as well as money laundering and proceeds of crime offences.
He is a dedicated, knowledgeable and persuasive criminal lawyer who is respected by magistrates, judges and prosecutors alike.
He fights hard to have cases ‘dropped’ and is consistently able to defend and win serious criminal cases after clients have received advice from other lawyers that their cases have no prospects of success (see Recent Cases).
Mr Nedim has also conducted 4000+ local court cases over his career, with an emphasis on:
- drink driving and major traffic offences,
- drug possession & supply,
- assaults and AVOs,
- fraud & dishonesty offences, and
- defended hearings, committal hearings, guilty pleas, bail applications and mental health cases.
However, he now focuses on serious and complex crime, taking on a limited number of the most difficult cases and working on them to the very highest quality standard, while also ensuring the exceptional standards of legal work at the firm are maintained on all cases.
Mr Nedim is a true specialist because he has always practised as a criminal defence lawyer – not a prosecutor, general lawyer or commercial lawyer, which have little relevance to high quality criminal defence work. Over and above this, he has independently carried his cases from start to finish since the start of his legal career – undertaking advocacy (courtroom) work where other lawyers may need the assistance of others.
He has developed specialised procedures, methods and techniques to achieve desirable outcomes for his corporate and individual clients.
He is respected for his ability to grasp large volumes of complex material, identify the relevant issues and formulate winning strategies, and his high-quality work is consistently praised by members of the judiciary.
With Mr Nedim, clients can rest assured of receiving the best defence whatever their particular criminal or traffic law case may be.
You can connect with Sydney Criminal Lawyers® via email, Facebook 
, Twitter 
, LinkedIn 
, Instagram 
and Youtube 
