In its submission to the Fines Reform Advisory Board, FCVic drew upon feedback from members, raising concerns with the implementation of the new fines system, and pointing to risks that the new Work and Development Permits (WDPs) will be rendered effectively inaccessible for many of those they are designed to assist.

As noted in the submission, for the WDPs to work as a system in Victoria there needs to be additional investment in financial counselling services, recognising the significant demand issues already being experienced by the financial counselling sector, and also its strategic role in enabling client access to the WDP scheme.