Queenslanders will be slugged more for traffic and other infringements from July 1, as the state government allows inflationary pressures to benefit parts of the budget.
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the penalty unit was instead frozen, so there was no change on July 1 that year. In 2021, the government played catch-up, gazetting a 3.3 per cent increase based on two years of Consumer Price Index increases.This July, however, the value of a penalty unit will increase by 4.3 per cent – beyond the reserve indexation amount in the legislation – in line with the Brisbane CPI figure. Treasurer Cameron Dick had the change gazetted on March 31.
At the same time, indexation for other government fees and charges – including motor vehicle registration – will be capped at 2.5 per cent. “That’s why we’ve decided to hold government indexation, which determines the price of things like vehicle registration fees and the QFES levy, to 2.5 per cent.”