It was a bad day for the Government after it had to also apologise to the victims of a crime whose identity was revealed in case files given to the media by the courts.

The flaw in the camera system led to drivers being penalised double demerit points incorrectly for seatbelt offences which were captured on the cameras between November 1, 2021 and August 31 2023.

All the offences were correctly recorded and the financial penalties were also correctly issued. The design fault was solely in the application of double demerit points in specific circumstances, the Government said.

The Transport Minister Mark Bailey said that for a small number of people, this led to their licence being suspended incorrectly or drivers serving a good driving behaviour period.

The Government said the 1800 people were incorrectly penalised. More than 620 drivers were incorrectly suspended, and 236 served good behaviour periods that were not warranted.

The fault in the system was identified during an analysis of the offences issued so far and Bailey said it was immediately rectified. He also promised a full review.

“Simply put this should never have happened,” Bailey said.

“My department is receiving urgent legal advice on the swift reissuance of incorrectly suspended licences.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie referred to it as another Mark Bailey stuff up.

“And Mark Bailey won’t be held to account by this chaotic, checked-out Labor Government, again,” he said.

In relation to the court breach, Attorney General Yvette D’Ath said the victims who were identified had been notified and the relevant media outlets made aware not to publish information that may lead to the identification of victims.

“I am deeply disturbed this occurred and have asked my acting Director General to conduct an immediate thorough investigation, D’Ath said.

The Government also had to apologise for a breach in courts system which gave news reporters access to the names of alleged victims of a crime. The media outlets have not identified the victims.