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Applying for a Work and Development Order

Information about applying for a Work and Development Order for a restitution debt.

About Work and Development Orders

A Work and Development Order (WDO) enables you to reduce your fines by participating in certain activities or treatment programs through an approved WDO sponsor.  The activity you can do depends on your circumstances. It can include:

  • unpaid work
  • medical or mental health treatment
  • an educational, vocational or life skills course
  • financial counselling
  • drug or alcohol treatment, or
  • a mentoring program (if you are under 25).

Who can apply

You can apply for a WDO if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • have a mental illness
  • have an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment
  • have a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol
  • are homeless
  • are experiencing extreme financial hardship (which can include where you rely on a Centrelink benefit)
  • are under 18 years of age.

This includes:

  • both adults and children
  • people living interstate (with a NSW fine debt)
  • people on a permanent or temporary Australia visa (with a NSW fine debt).

If you are on a visa, you should get legal advice before you apply for a WDO. Completing some approved activities may breach your visa conditions. 

For more information, see Apply for a Work and Development Order on the NSW Government website or call the WDO Hotline on 1300 478 879.

Approved activities

What activities you can do will depend on your personal circumstances. The approved activities include:

  • unpaid work, including voluntary activities done in gaol, juvenile detention or on community supervision
  • medical or mental health treatment, including disability case management
  • an educational, vocational or life skills course, including the MERIT and CREDIT programs
  • financial or other counselling, including family and group counselling
  • drug or alcohol treatment
  • a mentoring program.

The traffic offender intervention program can be an approved activity for a WDO if you voluntarily start the program before you are sentenced for the traffic offence. 

If you are ordered by the Court to complete the traffic offender intervention program it won’t count towards a WDO. 

If you have an unrestricted licence, and your licence has been suspended twice in five years for having too many demerit points, Transport NSW can require you to complete the program before you can get your licence back. If you complete the program at the request of Transport for NSW, you can ask for it to be an approved activity under a WDO. 

Your WDO must be approved before you start the program. 

You must complete the activities your WDO sponsor nominates.

These activities will count towards your fine at a rate of up to $1,000 per month. You can do more than one activity at a time. However, the maximum amount of WDO credit you can earn in a month is $1,000.

Finding a sponsor

If you are eligible for a Work and Development Order (WDO), you must find an approved WDO sponsor. 

To find a sponsor:

  • see Search WDO sponsor on the NSW Government website
  • contact the WDO Hotline on 1300 478 879
  • ask a community organisation or h​ealth practitioner that you already know.

Not all sponsors are listed online. You can call the WDO Hotline on 1300 478 879 to find out if there are any approved sponsors in your area.

Once you find a sponsor, you will need to discuss your situation with them. 

Your sponsor will need to:

  • assess your eligibility to undertake a WDO
  • obtain and keep the documents relating to your application
  • submit your application and monthly activity reports through the WDO self-service portal
  • keeps records of the activities you complete.

The sponsor will ask you to provide information that supports your application. 

Here are some examples of the types of supporting documents you should provide:

How to apply

Your sponsor will apply for a WDO on your behalf.

You will need to provide:

  • your date of birth
  • your address and contact details
  • your driver licence number and the state it was issued in
  • your Customer Reference Number, if you receive a Centrelink benefit
  • your support documents, such as payslips or bank statements.

If Revenue NSW refuses your application for a Work and Development Order you can appeal this decision to the Fines Hardship Review Board. Before you make this appeal, you should get legal advice.

Supporting documents

Mental illness

If you have a mental illness, you can provide:

  • a letter from a treating doctor, psychiatrist, registered psychologist or mental health nurse
  • a letter or document from a government or non-government agency to assess mental health
  • a letter or document from Centrelink (if you are on a disability pension).

Intellectual disability or cognitive impairment

If you have a intellectual disability or cognitive impairment, you can provide:

  •  a job capacity assessment or other Centrelink report describing the disability or impairment (if you are on a disability pension)
  • a declaration of eligibility of services from Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)
  • a letter from a treating doctor, psychiatrist, registered psychologist or mental health nurse
  • a letter or document from a government or non-government agency to assess intellectual disability or cognitive impairment. 

Homeless

If you are homeless, you can provide a letter from a caseworker, lawyer, government or non-government agency working with the homeless which describes your living arrangements and how long you have been homeless.

Serious addiction (drug or alcohol)

If you have a serious addition, you can provide:

  • a letter from a treating doctor, psychiatrist, registered psychologist, social worker or nurse specialising in drug and alcohol addiction
  • a letter from a caseworker, counsellor or residential rehabilitation provider
  • a letter from a government or non-government agency experienced with working in drug and alcohol addiction.

Financial hardship

If you have a financial hardship, you can provide:

  • a letter or document from Centrelink which confirms you are receiving Centrelink benefits (if you are a Centrelink recipient)
  • a copy of your most recent bank statements and payslips
  • a copy of your Medicare card if you have dependent children
  • evidence of child support payments (if you are paying child support).

Exceptional circumstances

If you have exceptional circumstances, you can provide:

  • a copy of your recent bank statement or payslips
  • evidence of medical or other bills
  • a statement describing your current domestic circumstances.

Once a sponsor is satisfied that they have enough information, they can lodge an application with Revenue NSW on your behalf. The sponsor can apply online through the WDO portal on the NSW Government website. 

Application is approved

If your application for a Work and Development Order (WDO) is approved by Revenue NSW, you must complete the activities nominated by your sponsor. 

The type of activity you complete will count towards your fine.

If you don’t comply with your WDO or provide false or misleading information, you will have to pay your fine and any additional penalties.

If you have completed your WDO activities but still have outstanding fines, you should speak to an advocate about your eligibility for a write off. Advocates are from approved government agencies or organisations such as Legal Aid NSW and financial counsellors.

Changing or cancelling a Work and Development Order

If you want to change your WDO, you must speak to your sponsor first.

You can ask to change your WDO:

  • if your work, treatment, or number of hours completing your activities has changed 
  • you want to include new fines in your WDO.

Your sponsor can ask to change or cancel a WDO through the online self-service portal.

If your circumstances have changed and you can’t complete the agreed activities, you must notify Revenue NSW as soon as possible.

Effect of a Work and Development Order

If you are granted a WDO, no action will be taken against you to recover the fines that relate to the WDO.

If your licence was suspended or your vehicle registration was cancelled due to the fines included in your WDO, you will get your licence and registration back.

If your licence was suspended or disqualified for reasons other than unpaid fines, a WDO won’t allow you to get your licence back.

If you receive new fines after the WDO is made, action can be taken against you in relation to those fines. 

Application is refused

If Revenue NSW refuses your application for a Work and Development Order, you may be able to apply to the Hardship Review Board to review their decision.

Before you apply for a review, you should consider contacting Revenue NSW to discuss their decision. 

For more information, see Step by step guide -Applying for a review at the Hardship Review Board.