Under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), the Children’s Court can impose a monetary penalty on a child who has been found guilty of an offence.
Around 1% of cases in the Children’s Court receive a fine (2023–24).
As with the maximum amount of a fine for adults, the maximum amount of a fine for children is described in penalty units. A penalty unit is an amount of money set by parliament each year. For the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the value of a penalty unit is set at $203.51 (up from $197.59 in 2024–25).
If the offender is under 15 years of age, the maximum fine is one penalty unit for one offence ($203.51 in 2025–26 and $197.59 in 2024–25) and two penalty units for multiple offences ($407.02 in 2025–26 and $395.18 in 2024–25).
If the offender is 15 years of age or over, the maximum fine is five penalty units for one offence ($1,017.55 in 2025–26 and $987.95 in 2024–25) and up to 10 penalty units for multiple offences ($2,035.10 in 2025–26 and $1,975.90 in 2024–25).
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