Following media reports on Monday, Victoria Police's Deputy Commissioner for Regional Operations, Rick Nugent, said that the force had not changed its policy and that it would pursue outstanding fines for breaches of restrictions put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.

"A guide was prepared for prosecutors and police with respect to prosecuting fines. In hindsight, that document was poorly worded and doesn't appropriately articulate the process for fines and warnings in relation to the Chief Health Officer (CHO) directions," he said.

It comes after The Age newspaper reported on Sunday that an internal email was circulated among the force in mid-December, outlining new guidelines.

The report said that police prosecutors and officers involved in cases where infringements were being contested were urged to only proceed with charges in cases classified as 'tier three'.

This is where there were repeated, deliberate or continuing breaches of the CHOs directions, or for those with COVID-19 who refused to isolate.

Deputy Commissioner Nugent said the advice was prepared in response to questions in relation to the prosecution of matters related to COVID-fines.

"The intent was to provide a consistent approach to questions right across the state but the problem associated with that was the way in which it was worded."

Deputy Commissioner Nugent said advice to members throughout the pandemic was to issue fines to people who were blatantly and deliberately breaching the CHO directions, putting fellow Victorians at risk, but that discretion should be used.

"This hasn't changed," he said, adding that police had issued about 40,000 fines for breaches since the beginning of the pandemic.

In addition, he said members had also formerly warned about 12,000 people in place of a fine while there would also be more warnings which had not been formally recorded.

Once a fine is issued, it is reviewed to ensure it is in line with the most up-to-date directions of the CHO. Some of the 40,000 fines issued were withdrawn after review, though Deputy Commissioner Nugent could not specify exactly how many.

About 3000 fines have so far been paid and approximately 5700 more people have "accepted guilt" and are on a payment plan.

Locally, police issued 305 infringements in the Ballarat Police Service Area - including the City of Ballarat and Pyrenees Shire - during this period according to data from the Crime Statistics Agency. A further 356 fines were issued in the Moorabool Police Service Area, which includes Moorabool, Hepburn and Golden Plains shires.

While the recipient of the fine is also able to request a separate review by Victoria Police, if it is upheld, the person has 28 days to pay it. If they do not comply, they receive a reminder and final notice to pay before it proceeds to Fines Victoria, then a warrant is issued and the matter proceeds to the Sheriff's office.

Deputy Commissioner Nugent said a person could also elect to have a matter heard before a court, with the usual process then undertaken. There are approximately 2400 people that have elected to proceed to court.

"It is no different to all other offences that proceed by way of summons," he said.

Deputy Commissioner Nugent insisted there had been no policy shift and there was no lesser priority in pursuing the matters in court than for any other offence.

"We will prosecute all of those that should be prosecuted. It's certainly not an area we have policed in the past... but it's something that occurred and something that was absolutely critical that we played an important role in limiting the spread of the virus.

"In that context those fines [were issued] to people who blatantly and deliberately breached CHO directions and put others at risk so we will proceed with those as we would with other serious offences."

The revelation caused serious concerns for the police union on Monday morning, with the belief it could undermine future police enforcement activities.

"Our members were asked to do a thankless job by the Government and they did that," The Police Association of Victoria's Secretary, Wayne Gatt, said, adding that it had not been easy for members who were asked to issue penalties where appropriate.

"If offenders form a view from this experience that penalties will be readily converted to cautions or diversions as a matter of course, then that sends a concerning message. We want to encourage willful compliance and not encourage civil disobedience."

Deputy Commissioner Nugent said there would have been concerns about enforcement had the directions in the contents of the email been as described, but this was not the case.

At a press conference on Monday morning, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was not a decision that the government had made, but one made by Victoria Police - which he stressed was completely independent of the government.

"Ultimately each of us have got a profound responsibility to play our part. We didn't achieve what we achieved in 2020 because we all flouted the rules," he said, adding that what was currently playing out in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe highlighted the devastating impact the virus could have.

New guidelines are being prepared.