NSW Drink Driving & Traffic Offences

Hi,

I am wondering if I'm eligible for a work licence. I was caught drink driving and my reading was 0.105%. I don't have any previous drink driving offences. Will I lose my licence when I go to court and if so can I get a work licence?

If you are in Victoria there are no work licences. It is unfortunate as many decent working people who make a mistake then lose their jobs as well. Victoria is well behind other states in their drink driving laws in this respect. Also that disqualifications are mandatory and a Magistrates discretion to not disqualify people has been taken from them. Hopefully the new Attorney General will consider this when he is reviewing the drink driving laws

I'm actually in Queensland. Do you think I will be eligible?

Dear Linda,

You are essentially looking at a 2 stage process in Queensland, in light of your reading. As you would expect a person's options change dramatically according to the reading.

First you apply for a s.79E Replacement licence. This is designed to take you through to the date on which you actually apply for a work licence.

Second, you apply for the work licence itself.

You will need to satisfy the eligibility criteria for both of these licences, before the Court is able to consider an application.

There are a number of criteria including (but not limited to) the requirement that you have no disqualifications (other than SPER suspensions for non-payment of fines) within the last 5 years.

I trust this will get you started. From this point on you should get specific advice from a lawyer on a face-to-face basis.

@Victorian Lawyer:

Queensland, thankfully, has a work licence regime, although very recently the Government was considering the abolition of work licences in line with Victoria.

In Queensland, a person may apply for a section 87 work licence if:
- the reading is below .15;
- a licence is necessary for work; and
- the applicant has no previous disqualifications or suspensions in the preceding 5 years.

However, the Government is looking at excluding all offenders who are convicted of a drink driving offence with a BAC greater than or equal to 0.10 from applying for a work licence. This will seriously reduce the number of people who can apply, and means that many people who are otherwise law abiding and hardworking may lose their jobs as a result of a one-off incident.