Drivers in Canberra and Western Australia who have been busted failing to wear seatbelts by AI cameras have had their fines thrown into doubt due to legal issues, with the total number of motorists affected stretching into the thousands.

Around 13,000 fines have been called into question in Canberra, where authorities failed to properly update a legal document governing the use of the cameras. Access Canberra, which is the primary contact point for government services in the ACT, recently discovered that the cameras were certified to detect drivers using mobile phones, but their legal underpinning had never been changed to explicitly include seatbelt offences.

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The problem had gone unnoticed since the ACT started using the cameras in November 2025, hence the high number of fines that have been affected. Access Canberra stopped issuing seatbelt fines when the issue was detected two weeks ago, but has resumed doing so now that it has been rectified.

Around 6500 drivers have already paid their fines, and Access Canberra considers those cases “settled” and their demerits still apply despite the legal mistake.

“The cameras are authorised for use as a traffic offence control device. It’s just that the disallowable instrument didn’t include the word ‘seatbelt’,” Access Canberra head Josh Rynehart explained.

“We consider once a person has paid their infringement, that that matter is settled and the demerits then do apply to their licence. The question is about whether the evidence would be admissible in court, not whether the evidence is correct.”

Rynehart said motorists can seek a withdrawal or dispute the fines. He said all 20 of the seatbelt offences that have been contested in court have been upheld.

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There is a similar situation in Western Australia, where police have dropped hundreds of seatbelt-related fines because police are having problems proving drivers who were busted on the AI cameras knew their passengers were not properly belted up.

WA started using the cameras last October and more than 81,000 seatbelt infringements have been issued since then. About 5700 of those, or approximately seven per cent, have been overturned when drivers have disputed them.

Police commissioner Col Blanch said authorities have “no reasonable prospect” of conviction and prosecutors are dropping the fines and demerits when motorists put up “reasonable defences”. However, he warned that “doesn’t mean everyone can make up a story and just tell us what they think”.

Affected drivers have told the ABC that they received infringements after cameras picked up their child momentarily putting the sash of the seatbelt under their arm, or when a passenger’s seatbelt slipped off for an instant while they reached for something in the vehicle.