Facebook post offers ‘people happy to accept demerit points for you’

A post in a Melbourne Facebook group has offered drivers the chance to pay $500 or more to offload their demerit points onto a stranger – a practice that is an offence around Australia.

RELATED: How long do demerit points last?

The post, which appeared on the Stonnington (Melbourne) Buy Swap Sell Facebook group on December 7, claimed there was "a whole team of people who are happy to accept points instead of you as long as they get paid well for doing so".

It also laid out a fee structure: $500 for one point, $900 for two points and $1250 for three points.

The post has since been removed from the members-only page.

For anyone considering taking them up on their offer, Victoria Police has warned the penalties for providing misleading information in a nomination statement far outweigh the demerit points.

"In short, under the Road Safety Act 1986, it is an offence to knowingly provide false or misleading information in a nomination statement," a Victoria Police spokesperson told Drive.

"The penalty is 60 penalty units for individuals or 120 penalty units for a body corporate."

The current value of a penalty unit in Victoria is $192.31 – meaning the fine for an individual caught giving a false nomination would be $11,538.60, while a corporation could face up to $23,077 in fines.

"If a person is convicted or found guilty of the offence, they can also have their licence or permit cancelled and the driver can be disqualified from driving and obtaining a licence for up to 24 months," the police spokesperson added.

Falsely nominating another driver to take your demerit points is an offence in every Australian state and territory.

All new drivers start with zero demerit points, and then accrue them on their licence each time an offence is committed.

Depending on where you live and what kind of licence you have, drivers can accrue up to 12 or 13 demerit points over a three-year period before your licence is suspended.

In every state and territory of Australia, demerit points last for three years from the date of offence and are transferable between states.

For example, if you’re from NSW and get a speeding fine in Victoria, however many demerit points that infringement would get you in NSW will be added to your NSW licence.

While demerit points 'expire', they still are recorded against your driving record and can be used against you in court.