Penalties and infringements

The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) contains infringeable offences and court-imposed penalties.

Schedule of HVNL Penalties, Infringement Penalties and Demerit Points

Schedule of HVNL Penalties, Infringement Penalties and Demerit Points 2024/25 (PDF, 403KB) - Provides a summary of the penalties and infringements outlined in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

Types of penalties established under the HVNL

Infringeable offences

An infringeable offence is one for which an infringement notice may be issued. The infringement notice sets out the details of an alleged offence and gives the person who is issued the notice the option of either paying the penalty amount set out in the notice or electing to have the matter dealt with by a court.

The payment level for infringeable offences in the HVNL is 10% of the maximum court imposable penalty. 

Court imposed penalties

The more serious offences are not infringeable and must be dealt with by a court. The HVNL sets out the maximum penalty that the court may impose.

Demerit points

Demerit points attach to a driver’s licence. Some offences under the HVNL attract demerit points under the state and territories’ road traffic laws. 

Indexation of penalties

A major component of maximum penalties is to act as a deterrence factor. To remain relevant, it is necessary that penalties rise in line with other costs of living. The HVNL contains an in-built indexing mechanism, which uses Australian Bureau of Statistics figures to provide an indexed amount, building on the original maximum penalties. Indexation occurs on 1 July each year.

Previous years' schedules