Drink Driving Charges

If your blood alcohol reading is 0.15 grams of alcohol or over, the police cannot issue you with a traffic infringement notice and will list the charge in the Magistrates’ Court. In this case, your case will be listed in court, or you will be issued a traffic infringement notice. 

If you are issued with an infringement notice, you have 28 days to object before the infringement takes effect, and:

• Your licence is cancelled
• You are disqualified from driving for the mandatory minimum period
• You have to pay the fine.

If you object, the police may charge you with an offence. For some blood alcohol readings, the mandatory minimum period of suspension may be higher if you object to an infringement notice and you are found guilty or plead guilty at court.

If your blood alcohol reading is 0.15 grams of alcohol or over, the police cannot issue you with a traffic infringement notice and will charge you instead.

If the police charge you, they will normally issue a document known as a charge sheet and summons, which they must do within 12 months after the date they alleged you committed the offence. Ordinarily, you will receive this via mail to your address.

Drink driving penalties

If you are caught drink driving, you will face harsh penalties.

If you are caught with a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) over the legal limit, you will:

• Face significant fines 
• Lose your licence
• Need to complete a compulsory Behaviour Change Program
• Have to get an alcohol interlock device installed
• Have to drive with a zero BAC requirement for at least 3 years, and
• For the more serious drink driving offences, a term of imprisonment.

There are a few factors that will impact your drink sentence:

• The type of offence you committed
• When you committed the offence 
• How old you were at the time of the offence
• The licence or permit you held at the time of the offence
• Whether it was your first drink driving offence.

If it was your first drink driving offence, learn more.

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Immediate suspension

In some instances, the police may also issue you with a notice of immediate suspension. They can do so within 12 months of issuing you with the certificate stating your reading, or at any time after they file charges before they are determined at court.

The police can issue you a notice of immediate suspension if: 

• Your blood alcohol reading is 0.10 grams of alcohol or more if you hold a full licence, or 
• Your blood alcohol reading is 0.07 grams of alcohol or more if you are a probationary licence or learner’s permit holder.

You can appeal a notice of immediate suspension to the Magistrates’ Court. There must be at least 14 days’ notice given for these appeals, and a Magistrate can only cancel the suspension if they are satisfied that ‘exceptional circumstances’ exist.

If not, they must confirm the suspension. Please note, ‘exceptional circumstances’ is a high threshold to reach and will usually require circumstances that are out of the ordinary.

Appealing your drink driving charges

If you are unhappy with the sentence imposed, or wish to still contest the charges, you can appeal to the County Court. In some cases where there is an issue of law, or you have been sentenced by the Chief Magistrate, you can appeal at the Supreme Court.

For a County Court appeal, you must complete a notice of appeal, which is generated and provided by the Magistrates’ Court registry. This must be done within 28 days of being sentenced. If you do not comply with this deadline, you have to seek leave from the County Court prior to the appeal proceeding. You will also need to show exceptional circumstances.

Your appeal can be either be:

• Against sentence
• Against conviction (in this case meaning the finding of guilt) and sentence.

If you are found guilty or plead guilty, the County Court has the power to make any orders made by the Magistrates’ Court and, like the Magistrates’ Court, has no discretion to change the mandatory minimum disqualification period.

You can, when filing the appeal, apply to the court to stay (suspend) the operation of the order. This will result in suspending the cancellation of your licence until the appeal is heard. However, it is up to the court which made the order to decide whether to allow your application.

Prior to appealing a matter, it is important to get legal advice, and preferably representation.

Drink Driving Lawyers

If you need help understanding what offences and penalties may come with a drink driving charge, get in touch. Slades & Parsons have over 35 years of experience when it comes to defending criminal charges.