Fined for a passenger not wearing a seatbelt? Who pays — and what you can do

The rule most drivers don't expect: you cop it for your passengers

Plenty of drivers assume a seatbelt is each person's own responsibility. Legally, it doesn't work that way. In every state and territory, the driver is responsible for making sure everyone in the vehicle is wearing a seatbelt — or is in an approved child restraint — and wearing it properly. If a passenger isn't, it's the driver who receives the fine and the demerit points.

• It applies to adult passengers too. Your mate in the front seat with the sash under his arm can cost you the fine — even though he's a grown adult making his own choices. Police can separately fine a passenger aged 16 or over, but that's in addition to, not instead of, the driver's penalty.
• It's per passenger in Queensland. The driver receives a $1,295 fine and 4 demerit points for every passenger who isn't properly buckled up (from 1 July 2026) — two unbelted passengers means two fines.
• "Not wearing it properly" counts. Most of these fines aren't for a missing belt — they're for a belt worn under the arm, behind the back, twisted, or slack. That includes kids who have wriggled an arm out of the sash.
• You can't pass it to the passenger. Nomination only exists for telling the authority someone else was driving. There is no process to transfer a passenger-seatbelt fine to the passenger.

Fine amounts vary a lot by state — from roughly $418 in Victoria and about $423 in NSW to $550-plus in WA and $1,295 in Queensland, with 3–4 demerit points (amounts re-index each July, so always check the figure on your own notice). See our full state-by-state seatbelt fine table.

Cameras changed everything

For decades this rule was enforced by police at the roadside, where an officer could see who was in the car and use judgement. Now AI-powered detection cameras photograph every passing vehicle and flag suspected seatbelt offences automatically — driver and front passenger:

• NSW — the existing mobile-phone detection cameras began enforcing seatbelt offences on 1 July 2024. The driver is fined if they or their passengers aren't buckled correctly. Software flags the image, trained personnel verify it, and images with no offence are deleted.
• Victoria — detection cameras captured more than 68,000 phone and seatbelt offences in the year to 30 June 2025. The driver is fined when a passenger isn't properly restrained; passengers 16+ can also be fined.
• Queensland — cameras have enforced phone and seatbelt offences statewide since 2021, with the per-passenger penalty above.
• WA — safety cameras began issuing seatbelt fines on 8 October 2025 after a caution period, and immediately became the most controversial rollout in the country (more below). New fixed cameras on the Mitchell Freeway are in a caution-notice period from 1 June 2026 before fines start there too.

The exceptions: in NSW, bus and taxi drivers are not fined by camera for their passengers' seatbelts (a camera can't tell a fare from a friend) — though rideshare drivers are. Police enforcement still applies to everyone.

Why these fines feel so unfair — and why so many get withdrawn

The passenger rule plus automated enforcement is a rough combination. A camera photographs a split second; the driver gets a fine weeks later for something they may never have been able to see or fix — a child who slipped an arm out of the sash on the highway, a passenger who unclipped early as the car pulled in. Drivers have made exactly this point loudly in WA, where the rollout prompted a formal review by the state's Road Safety Commission in early 2026 after cameras were found to be issuing more than $1 million in fines a week.

And when drivers push back, a striking share of these fines don't survive:

• In WA, around 60% of drivers who requested a review of an AI seatbelt fine had it withdrawn — more than $1 million wiped. The authority also cancelled batches of fines where a driver copped multiple penalties in a short window with "no opportunity to modify their behaviour".
• In a Queensland case reported in early 2026, a driver successfully challenged a camera-issued passenger-seatbelt fine in court: the magistrate accepted it was reasonable for him to believe his passenger was buckled up properly, and the fine was thrown out.
• Camera images themselves are fallible: a worn belt can blend into clothing or vanish in shadow in the black-and-white photo. Our AI camera fines article covers the error patterns in detail.

None of this means every passenger-seatbelt fine is wrong — many are fair. But the withdrawal numbers show these fines are worth a close look before you pay.

What to do if you've been fined for a passenger's belt

• View the photo first. Every state lets you see the camera image online — here's how to view your camera fine photo in each state. Look closely: is the passenger's belt actually missing, or just hard to see? Is the flagged person really unbelted, or is the sash hidden behind an arm or blended into clothing?
• Weren't driving? If someone else was behind the wheel, nominate the actual driver — see how to nominate another driver. (You can't nominate the passenger.)
• Belt was worn but invisible? Re-create the shot: same seat, same clothes, belt on, photographed from roughly the camera's angle, clearly labelled as a later demonstration. A passenger who can confirm they were buckled makes it stronger.
• Passenger unbuckled without your knowledge? Say so, factually: when they unclipped (or shifted the sash), why you couldn't reasonably have seen it from the driver's seat, and what you did once you knew. This is the ground that succeeded in the Queensland court case.
• Passenger genuinely was unbelted and you knew? Be honest with yourself — a review arguing the offence didn't happen will likely fail. Leniency for a clean record or genuine hardship may still be open in some states, and our free check will tell you honestly whether anything is worth raising.
• Request the review within the deadline on your notice (commonly 28 days). It's free, and the fine doesn't increase because you asked. In WA, allow up to 20 business days for a response.

That review letter is exactly what Fight My Fine drafts for you. You answer a few plain-English questions, we give you a free read on how strong your grounds are — and tell you honestly if they're weak — then draft an editable letter addressed to the right authority for your state and fine type.