{"id":"sl-2009-24","name":"Magistrates Court Regulation 2009","slug":"magistrates-court-regulation-2009","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"24 of 2009","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173542,"registerId":"act-sl-2009-24-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Magistrates Court Regulation 2009","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nSL2009-24\nmade under the\nMagistrates Court Act 1930\nRepublication No 4\nEffective: 20 April 2024\nRepublication date: 20 April 2024\nLast amendment made by A2024-12\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Magistrates Court Regulation 2009, made under the Magistrates\nCourt Act 1930 (including any amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3\n(Editorial changes)) as in force on 20 April 2024. It also includes any commencement,\namendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to 20 April 2024.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR4\n20/04/24\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nmade under the\nMagistrates Court Act 1930\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Notes 2\n3A Application for infringement notice management plan or addition to\nplan—contents—Act, s 131AA (4) (b) 2\n3B Cancellation of infringement notice management plan allowing\npayment by instalment—Act, s 131ACA (1) (b) (i) 3\n3C Matters to consider when deciding whether to cancel infringement\nnotice management plan—Act, s 131ACA (4) (b) 3\n4 Awarding costs in criminal matters—Act, s 244 (1) (d) (i) 3\n5 Costs in criminal matters—agreement by parties 4\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Magistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\nR4\n20/04/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n2 Abbreviation key 5\n3 Legislation history 6\n4 Amendment history 7\n5 Earlier republications 7\n\nR4\n20/04/24\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nmade under the\nMagistrates Court Act 1930\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Magistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\nR4\n20/04/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Magistrates Court Regulation 2009.\n3 Notes\nA note included in this regulation is explanatory and is not part of this\nregulation.\nNote See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes.\n3A Application for infringement notice management plan or\naddition to plan—contents—Act, s 131AA (4) (b)\n(1) The following cards are prescribed:\n(a) a health care card issued under the Social Security Act 1991\n(Cwlth);\n(b) a pensioner concession card issued under the Social Security\nAct 1991 (Cwlth);\n(c) a pensioner concession card issued in relation to a pension under\nthe Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cwlth) or the Military\nRehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cwlth);\n(d) a gold card.\n(2) In this section:\ngold card means a card known as the Repatriation Health Card—For\nAll Conditions that evidences a person’s eligibility, under the\nVeterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cwlth) or the Military\nRehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cwlth), to be provided\nwith treatment for all injuries or diseases.\n\nSection 3B\nR4\n20/04/24\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3B Cancellation of infringement notice management plan\nallowing payment by instalment—Act, s 131ACA (1) (b) (i)\nAny of the following circumstances are prescribed:\n(a) the person fails to pay 3 or more consecutive instalments in\naccordance with the plan;\n(b) the person fails to pay 6 or more instalments in accordance with\nthe plan in any 12-month period.\n3C Matters to consider when deciding whether to cancel\ninfringement notice management plan—Act, s 131ACA\n(4) (b)\nThe following matters are prescribed:\n(a) any reasons given to the administering authority by the person\nabout why they failed to make the payments as mentioned in\nsection 3B or otherwise failed to comply with the plan;\n(b) whether it is likely the person will—\n(i) if a circumstance mentioned in section 3B applies—fail to\npay further instalments in accordance with the plan; or\n(ii) in any case—fail to comply with the plan in the future.\n4 Awarding costs in criminal matters—Act, s 244 (1) (d) (i)\n(1) In awarding costs, the court may order that the amount to be paid is\nthe amount––\n(a) decided by the court; or\n(b) agreed by the parties.\n(2) The amount to be paid must be worked out in accordance with the\nCourt Procedures Rules 2006, schedule 4 (the scale of costs) as\napplied under subsection (3).\n\nSection 5\npage 4 Magistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\nR4\n20/04/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(3) In working out the amount—\n(a) a reference to the registrar is taken to be a reference to the court\nor the parties; and\n(b) the amount allowed under an item in part 4.2 of the scale of costs\nis multiplied by 67%; and\n(c) rule 4.12 (Costs—transitional) of the scale of costs does not\napply.\n5 Costs in criminal matters—agreement by parties\n(1) This section applies if the court orders, under section 4 (1) (b), that\nthe amount of costs to be paid is the amount agreed by the parties.\n(2) If the party entitled to costs and the party liable for costs agree that\nthe costs be set at a certain amount (the agreed amount), either party\nmay file a written agreement to the costs being set at the agreed\namount.\n(3) The agreement must be signed by the parties or their solicitors.\n(4) On the filing of the agreement, the agreed amount is taken to be the\namount of costs to be paid.\n(5) If the parties cannot agree on the amount, the court may order that the\nregistrar assess costs in accordance with the scale of costs as applied\nunder section 4 (3) (b) and (c).\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR4\n20/04/24\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 6 Magistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\nR4\n20/04/24\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009 SL2009-24\nnotified LR 28 May 2009\ns 1, s 2 commenced 28 May 2009 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 30 May 2009 (s 2)\nas amended by\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2013 A2013-19 sch 3 pt 3.28\nnotified LR 24 May 2013\ns 1, s 2 commenced 24 May 2013 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 3 pt 3.28 commenced 14 June 2013 (s 2)\nMagistrates Court (Infringement Notices) Amendment Act 2020\nA2020-5 pt 3 (as am by A2021-33 pt 15)\nnotified LR 27 February 2020\ns 1, s 2 commenced 27 February 2020 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 3 commenced 27 February 2024 (s 2 (2) (as am by A2021-33 pt 15)\nand LA s 79)\nJustice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2021\n(No 2) A2021-33 pt 15\nnotified LR 10 December 2021\ns 1, s 2 commenced 10 December 2021 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 15 commenced 17 December 2021 (s 2 (1))\nNote This Act only amends the Magistrates Court (Infringement\nNotices) Amendment Act 2020 A2020-5.\nCrimes Legislation Amendment Act 2024 A2024-12 pt 10\nnotified LR 19 April 2024\ns 1, s 2 commenced 19 April 2024 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 10 commenced 20 April 2024 (s 2 (3) (b))\n\nEndnotes\nAmendment history 4\nR4\n20/04/24\nMagistrates Court Regulation 2009\nEffective: 20/04/24\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\nApplication for infringement notice management plan or addition to plan—\ncontents—Act, s 131AA (4) (b)\ns 3A ins A2020-5 s 27\nCancellation of infringement notice management plan allowing payment by\ninstalment—Act, s 131ACA (1) (b) (i)\ns 3B ins A2024-12 s 24\nMatters to consider when deciding whether to cancel infringement notice\nmanagement plan—Act, s 131ACA (4) (b)\ns 3C ins A2024-12 s 24\nAwarding costs in criminal matters—Act, s 244 (1) (d) (i)\ns 4 am A2013-19 amdt 3.209\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications are\nmarked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR1\n30 May 2009\n30 May 2009–\n13 June 2013\nnot amended new regulation\nR2\n14 June 2013\n14 June 2013–\n26 Feb 2024\nA2013-19 amendments by\nA2013-19\nR3\n27 Feb 2024\n27 Feb 2024–\n19 Apr 2024\nA2020-5 amendments by\nA2020-5 as\namended by\nA2021-33\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n© Australian Capital Territory 2024","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Since the original 2009 regulation this version has expanded and specified procedural detail beyond a simple court‑costs and general framework. Notably: (a) sections 3A, 3B and 3C (inserted by later amendments) create a prescribed eligibility class for infringement notice management plans (specific Commonwealth concession and veterans’ cards) and set explicit numeric triggers and mandatory considerations for cancelling instalment plans — this narrows who can access instalment relief and prescribes enforcement triggers and decision‑making criteria, increasing administrative specificity; and (b) section 4 (as amended) changes how the Magistrates Court calculates recoverable costs by adjusting an external scale (multiplying certain items by 67% and disapplying rule 4.12), which materially alters the financial scope of cost recovery compared to the earlier unamended scale. These changes move the regulation from general procedural settings toward more detailed eligibility, enforcement and cost‑calculation rules (see ss 3A–3C, 4–5)."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with 5 substantive provisions but several external cross-references (Magistrates Court Act 1930 and Court Procedures Rules 2006).","Defined term introduced locally: 'gold card' in s 3A(2).","Two-tiered numeric cancellation rule with alternative tests (3 consecutive instalments OR 6 instalments in any 12 months) in s 3B.","Prescriptive list of qualifying cards in s 3A (4 items) — straightforward but requires connection to Commonwealth instruments for verification.","Adjustments to an external scale of costs: multiplying part 4.2 amounts by 67% and disapplying rule 4.12 of that scale (s 4(3)(b)–(c)).","Procedural filing requirement for agreed costs (signed agreement by parties or solicitors) with an effect on court orders (s 5).","Mixed administrative and judicial processes — some rules bind administering authorities, others bind courts/parties, increasing the number of actors affected."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this regulation does (mechanically)\n\n- Prescribes which concession and veteran health cards qualify a person to apply for an infringement notice management plan or an addition to such a plan (section 3A).\n- Specifies when an administering authority may cancel a management plan that allows payment by instalments: failure to pay 3 or more consecutive instalments, or 6 or more instalments in any 12‑month period (section 3B).\n- Lists the matters an administering authority must consider before cancelling an instalment plan: the person’s reasons for failing to pay and whether further non‑payment or non‑compliance is likely (section 3C).\n- Sets how the Magistrates Court may award costs in criminal matters: the court can decide an amount itself or adopt an amount agreed by the parties; and, where the court works out costs using the Court Procedures Rules 2006 scale of costs, it must treat references to the registrar as references to the court or parties, reduce the amounts in part 4.2 by multiplying by 67%, and ignore rule 4.12 of that scale (section 4).\n- Allows parties who agree an amount of costs to file a signed written agreement; on filing that agreement the agreed amount becomes the amount payable (section 5). If the parties cannot agree, the court can order the registrar to assess costs using the adjusted scale (section 5).\n\nWho this affects\n\n- People with infringement notices (fines) who want to manage payment by instalments and who hold one of the prescribed cards: a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card issued under the Commonwealth Social Security Act 1991, a Pensioner Concession Card linked to Veterans’ entitlements or Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Acts, or the Repatriation Health Card—For All Conditions (the “gold card”) (s 3A).\n- Administering authorities that set, monitor and cancel infringement notice management plans — they must apply the prescribed cancellation triggers and consider prescribed factors before cancelling (ss 3B–3C).\n- People involved in criminal proceedings in the Magistrates Court who may be ordered to pay costs, and their lawyers — the court and parties must apply the Court Procedures Rules 2006 scale with the numeric adjustments set out here (ss 4–5).\n\nWhy this matters (stated purpose, and practical consequences)\n\n- The regulation implements procedural detail for two administrative areas: (a) eligibility and enforcement rules for instalment management of infringement notices, and (b) the mechanics for awarding costs in criminal matters.\n- Purpose as stated or implied: to standardise when instalment plans may be granted or cancelled and to standardise how costs are quantified in the Magistrates Court (see ss 3A, 3B, 3C, 4, 5).\n\nHow the rules change incentives, costs and behaviour (concrete mechanisms)\n\n- Eligibility for instalment plans is limited to people who can show a prescribed concession card (s 3A). That narrows who may rely on the instalment option and concentrates the benefit on people holding those Commonwealth cards; applicants must produce relevant evidence, creating a small paperwork/compliance cost for applicants and administrative checking costs for authorities.\n- Cancellation rules (s 3B) create clear numeric triggers for non‑payment: missing 3 consecutive instalments or 6 instalments in 12 months. Those triggers create an incentive for plan holders to avoid consecutive missed payments; they reduce discretion for administrators to some extent, but s 3C requires administrators to consider the person’s reasons and likelihood of future default before cancelling, preserving some case‑by‑case judgment.\n- For costs in criminal matters the regulation reduces the amounts recoverable under part 4.2 of the scale of costs by multiplying those items by 67% (s 4(3)(b)). That mechanically lowers the baseline recoverable costs in many cases. The regulation also disapplies transitional rule 4.12 of the scale (s 4(3)(c)) and treats references to the registrar as references to the court or parties (s 4(3)(a)), which changes how the scale is applied in practice.\n- Parties can fix costs by agreement and file a signed agreement, which makes settlement straightforward and takes the assessment function (and its cost and time) out of the court if both sides consent (s 5).\n\nImplementation risks and administrative burdens\n\n- Administrative burden: checking entitlement to prescribed cards and monitoring instalment compliance (s 3A–3B). Authorities must record instalment histories to apply the 3-consecutive / 6-in-12 rule (s 3B).\n- Bureaucratic discretion: s 3C preserves discretion by requiring consideration of reasons and future likelihood of non‑compliance; outcomes can therefore vary by administering authority practice and record-keeping.\n- Cross‑reference dependence: the cost regime relies on the Court Procedures Rules 2006 (s 4), so any change to that scale or to the court’s procedures will affect how costs are calculated here.\n\nWho pays, who decides, and what behaviour changes\n\n- Who pays: people liable for infringement notices must pay instalments or risk plan cancellation (s 3B). Parties in criminal proceedings may pay or receive costs; amounts recoverable are reduced as provided (s 4).\n- Who decides: administering authorities decide to grant or cancel management plans subject to s 3B–3C; Magistrates Court decides on awarding costs (s 4), but parties can agree and file a written agreement to fix costs (s 5).\n- Behaviour changes: affected individuals will be incentivised to present one of the prescribed cards to access instalment plans (s 3A), to avoid missing consecutive payments (s 3B), and litigants/solicitors may be more likely to negotiate and file agreed costs to avoid assessment proceedings (s 5).\n\nKey citations: Magistrates Court Regulation 2009, sections 3A, 3B, 3C, 4 and 5."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: prescribing procedural details for infringement notice management plans and criminal costs. The 2024 amendments added specific cancellation triggers and considerations (sections 3B and 3C) but these elaborate on the existing infringement notice framework rather than expanding into new policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (5 substantive sections, 4 pages of actual content)","Minimal defined terms (only 1: 'gold card' in section 3A)","Simple, direct provisions without nested conditions or exceptions","No cross-referencing maze—each section refers to a specific provision in the parent Act (Magistrates Court Act 1930) for context","Straightforward arithmetic (67% multiplier) and clear thresholds (3 consecutive or 6 in 12 months)","Legislative history and endnotes are standard metadata, not substantive complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation sets practical rules for two court processes in the ACT: managing infringement‑notice payment plans and determining criminal‑case costs. It defines eligibility for payment plans by certain concession cards and when plans may be cancelled for missed payments.  \n\nIt also fixes how criminal costs are calculated—parties may agree an amount, otherwise the court uses the standard scale reduced to 67%, with the registrar resolving disputes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009","history":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009/history","analysis":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/magistrates-court-regulation-2009/documents"}}