Queenslanders owe more than a billion dollars in unpaid fines

Queenslanders owe the state government more than a billion dollars in unpaid fines.

About 60 per cent of the almost $1.3 billion in unpaid fines relate to traffic infringements and toll fines but COVID-19 breaches and hotel quarantine have added significantly to the massive debt over the past year.

In 2020, enforcement was paused for a period of time to allow people to get back on their feet financially during the pandemic.

But that grace period is now over and debt collection has resumed.

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A total of 43,801 invoices have been issued for hotel quarantine and 11 per cent of them are considered "significantly overdue".

Four and a half per cent of the invoices, totally $5.3 million, have now been referred to a debt collector.

While Queensland Health is chasing the hotel quarantine-related debt, the State Penalties Enforcement Registry is chasing $4.1 million in fines for COVID-19 breaches.

"COVID-related fines are a significant issue for us because they're obviously a high priority for the community so we have put them right at the top of our order of collection," SPER registrar Mark Jackson said.

"We have a range of strategies in place to collect that money, including setting up a debt management centre in Ipswich and field enforcement teams that are out collecting debt in the field."