Hello.
Welcome to the Myki Pleader v0.91 prototype. THIS IS STRICTLY BETA.*
I have drawn inspiration from two sources for this prototype: DoNotPay and Know Your Myki Rights, from which I confess I have borrowed very liberally in this decision tree. It’s not my intention to double up on information already available in the public domain, but I wanted to try to integrate the two concepts illustrated in these two existing platforms. There are already places where you can get self-help kits for this sort of thing, which is very useful, but the rise of sites such as DoNotPay which provide a degree of automation, points to the notion that there is a gap to be filled.
This, of course, is not a substitute for tailored legal advice. It is simply legal information. I would prefer not to have to do the typical disclaimer,* because requesting an internal review from the Department of Transport is perfectly suited to a self help approach. Ultimately, although transport infringements are summary criminal offences, the internal review stage is undertaken by public servants with a rule book or some guidelines – they do not seem to be legally trained and they are not able to produced nuanced decisions. This is also because the arguments which are available to contest the issue of a fine for an infringement are narrow and procedural.
Having said this – if you have already requested an internal review and it was unsuccessful, and you are now considering having it referred to court, or if you have received an Enforcement Order or the matter has progressed beyond this first step – you should make an appointment to speak to a lawyer!
If you are fined on Victorian public transport you currently have two choices – pay an ‘on the spot fare’ of $75 or have an infringement notice sent to you in the mail. If you have chosen the former option, there is no option for an internal review because it is not actually a fine. However you can potentially report matters to the Transport Ombudsman. The $75 on the spot ‘fare’ is due to be discontinued in 2017, so I am not going to spend much time on it here.
So you’re a poor uni student and you live in Melbourne, Australia under the (currently) brutal Myki infringement regime. You’ve received a myki infringement notice in the mail, and now you’re wondering what you can do.
Go no further, let’s see if we can help.
I welcome constructive comments during the prototyping, so please come back here and let me know what you think.
Note: Your data is not recorded anywhere. Only you can see the letter draft and unless you copy and save it into a word document or otherwise, it will disappear into the ether(net) once you leave the page.
To Do:
- Create email version of draft letter
- Add more info on specific aspects
- (Maybe) Add more types of infringements:
| Examples of infringements | Fine for Adult | Fine for Child (under 18) |
|---|---|---|
| Smoking in a carriage or public transport premises (including train platforms; tram and bus shelters) | $233 | $78 |
| Littering | $233 | $78 |
| Having your feet on the furniture or fittings | $233 | $78 |
| Trespassing | $311 | $78 |
| Using indecent or offensive language or gestures | $311 | $78 |
| Behaving in a disorderly or offensive manner | $311 | $78 |
| Interfering with the doors of a vehicle | $389 | $78 |
| Travelling with part of your body outside a vehicle in motion | $466 | $78 |
Changelog:
MykiPleader 0.91
- added international or domestic options
- added underage options
- added more examples for exceptional circumstances
- added info on meanings of terms in letter
MykiPleader 0.9
- improved navigation – added top and side nav
- improved information on various definitions
- improved sanitisation of form data to prevent XSS attacks
- enabled SSL for encryption of form data and to prevent session hijacking
- Fixed some logic errors so letter drafts as intended
MykiPleader 0.8
- basic functionality with decision tree and form fill
*That is, the platform is provided ‘as is’, there are no express or implied warranties of any sort – so no warranty of fitness for any particular purpose etc. I am not liable for anything that happens as a result of using MykiPleader. Not ever, not under any circumstances. Cheers.