|
Drink
Driving Penalties in Victoria
Victoria
has mandatory
sentencing
when it comes to most drink drive
offences and many speeding offences.
When you combine strict liability
offences with mandatory sentencing,
life can get pretty grim.
Licence
Cancellation
The
table below sets out the minimum
periods of licence cancellation for
all drivers found guilty of a drink
driving offence in Victoria. There
are no better alternatives except
for those who plead not guilty
and are acquitted. The
only way to avoid licence loss for
drink driving offences is to plead
not guilty and be acquitted. The
penalties for subsequent offences
apply to people who have been found
guilty or convicted of a drink
driving or drug driving offence
during the period of 10 years prior
to the date of the current offence.
First
Offence and Subsequent Offence
If
you have not had a drink driving
of drug driving offence in the
past 10 years your most recent
offence could be treated as a
first offence. Your recent drink
driving or drug driving offence is
considered a subsequent offence if
you have, in the period of 10
years prior to your recent
offence, been found guilty or
convicted of a drink driving or
drug driving related offence
anywhere in Australia. The 10
years is counted from the date
your last penalty was imposed to
the date of your recent offending.
Amendments to the Act in 2014 are
peculiar in that they add sections
that refer to your drink driving
priors only, rather than referring
to a subsequent offence, so you
need to take note of the
distinction.
MINIMUM
cancellation
periods for
Drink Driving
Offences
committed on
or after
29/10/2018
|
|
Your
BAC Reading
|
First
Offenders
|
Subsequent
Offenders
|
|
Under
0.05%
|
3
months. [s.50(1A)]
|
12
months. [s.50(1A)]
|
0.05%
or more but
less than 0.07
|
3 months (for
drivers aged 26
years or
more who were
subject to a
0.05% limit and
who are
convicted by an
infringement
notice) [s.89C]
Else 6 months.
[s.50(1A)]
|
12 months [s.50(1A)] |
|
0.07%
or more but
less than 0.08
|
6
months [Schedule
1 RSA]
|
14
months
|
|
0.08%
or more but
less than 0.09
|
6
months
|
16
months
|
|
0.09%
or more but
less than 0.10
|
6
months
|
18
months
|
|
0.10%
or more but
less than 0.11
|
10
months
|
20
months
|
|
0.11%
or more but
less than 0.12
|
11
months
|
22
months
|
|
0.12%
or more but
less than 0.13
|
12
months
|
24
months
|
|
0.13%
or more but
less than 0.14
|
13
months
|
26
months
|
|
0.14%
or more but
less than 0.15
|
14
months
|
28
months
|
|
0.15%
or more but
less than 0.16
|
15
months
|
30
months
|
|
0.16%
or more but
less than 0.17
|
16
months
|
32
months
|
|
0.17%
or more but
less than 0.18
|
17
months
|
34
months
|
|
0.18%
or more but
less than 0.19
|
18
months
|
36
months
|
|
0.19%
or more but
less than 0.20
|
19
months
|
38
months
|
|
0.20%
or more but
less than 0.21
|
20
months
|
40
months
|
|
0.21%
or more but
less than 0.22
|
21
months
|
42
months
|
|
0.22%
or more but
less than 0.23
|
22
months
|
44
months
|
|
0.23%
or more but
less than 0.24
|
23
months
|
46
months
|
|
0.24%
or more
|
24
months
|
48
months
|
MAXIMUM
Penalties for
Drink Driving
offences
|
|
First
Offence
|
Max
Fine
|
Max
Prison
|
|
All
first offenders
|
$3,000
|
Nil
|
|
Second
Offence
|
|
|
|
Under 0.15%
|
$9,000
|
6 months
|
|
0.15% or more
|
$18,000
|
12 months
|
|
Refusing a
requirement
|
$18,000
|
12 months
|
|
Third
Offence
|
|
|
|
Under 0.15%
|
$18,000
|
12 months
|
|
0.15% or more
|
$27,000
|
18 months
|
|
Refusing a
requirement
|
$27,000
|
18 months
|
Driving
Under the Influence
(s.49(1)(a)) carries a
maximum fine of about
$3,000.00 or 3 months gaol
for a first offence, 12
months gaol or $15,000 for
a second offence, and
about $22,000 or 18 months
for a third or more
offence. All Victorian
licences will be cancelled
and you can be
disqualified from driving
in Victoria for at
least 2 years.
Note:
only in the most
extreme cases will a
court impose the
maximum penalties.
If
you have refused a
breath test or blood
test, apply the same
penalties as if your
reading is 0.24%
*BAC = Blood Alcohol
Content
|
MINIMUM
Licence Loss
Periods for
Offences committed
1/10/2014 to
29/10/2018
|
|
Your
BAC Reading
|
First
Offenders
|
Subsequent
Offenders
|
|
Under
0.05% for persons
who did not hold a
full drivers licence
at date of
offence.
|
3
months. [s.50(1A)]
|
12
months. [s.50(1A)]
|
| Under
0.05%, for
persons who held
a full drivers
licence at date
of offence. |
Discretionary
up to 6 months. [s.50(1AB),
s.52AA] |
If you have not been
guilty of
exceeding your
prescribed
concentration
of alcohol
in the past 10 years:
discretionary up to 6
months. [s.50(1AB)]
Else 12 months.[s.50(1A((b)] |
0.05%
or more but
less than 0.07
|
3 months (for drivers
aged 26 years or
more who were subject to
a 0.05% limit and who
are convicted by an
infringement notice) [s.89C]
Else 6 months.
[s.50(1A)]
|
12 months [s.50(1A)] |
|
0.07%
or more but less
than 0.08
|
6
months [Schedule
1 RSA]
|
14
months
|
|
0.08%
or more but less
than 0.09
|
6
months
|
16
months
|
|
0.09%
or more but less
than 0.10
|
6
months
|
18
months
|
|
0.10%
or more but less
than 0.11
|
10
months
|
20
months
|
|
0.11%
or more but less
than 0.12
|
11
months
|
22
months
|
|
0.12%
or more but less
than 0.13
|
12
months
|
24
months
|
|
0.13%
or more but less
than 0.14
|
13
months
|
26
months
|
|
0.14%
or more but less
than 0.15
|
14
months
|
28
months
|
|
0.15%
or more but less
than 0.16
|
15
months
|
30
months
|
|
0.16%
or more but less
than 0.17
|
16
months
|
32
months
|
|
0.17%
or more but less
than 0.18
|
17
months
|
34
months
|
|
0.18%
or more but less
than 0.19
|
18
months
|
36
months
|
|
0.19%
or more but less
than 0.20
|
19
months
|
38
months
|
|
0.20%
or more but less
than 0.21
|
20
months
|
40
months
|
|
0.21%
or more but less
than 0.22
|
21
months
|
42
months
|
|
0.22%
or more but less
than 0.23
|
22
months
|
44
months
|
|
0.23%
or more but less
than 0.24
|
23
months
|
46
months
|
|
0.24%
or more
|
24
months
|
48
months
|
2014
Amendments to the drink driving
penalties
In
October 2014 Parliament changed
the penalties for drink drivers
with readings under 0.07% -
compare the two tables above.
Perhaps the Road Safety Committee
thought the old laws were not
complicated enough. The new
provisions are not aimed at
re-dressing any problem with
the old laws. Drivers under
0.07% are the least likely
offenders to be involved in a
motor vehicle accident. The
new laws almost totally remove the
option for a guilty person under
0.07% to save their licence.
Parliament is now micro-managing
the sentencing process by setting
more and more criteria for this
ever-expanding matrix of
penalties. It is mind-numbing in
its complexity. The mandatory
sentences are now extremely
prescriptive such that the main
function a Magistrate is required
to perform is to try to interpret
this complicated legislation. The
only discretion left for a
Magistrate in respect of driver
licences is whether or not to
permit truck drivers, taxi drivers
and bus drivers keep their licence
if they blow under 0.05%.
Terms
of Imprisonment
Anyone who at the time of committing
a drink driving offence has a prior
drink driving offence on their record
can be sentenced to a term of
imprisonment. Most second
offenders will not get a term of
imprisonment, although some
magistrates have a practice of
imposing suspended jail terms on
anyone who comes to court for a second
offence. The more drink driving
related offences you commit, or the
more outrageous your drink driving
offence is, the more likely you will
be sentenced to a term of
imprisonment. Suspended terms of
imprisonment are no longer available
as a sentencing option. The
alternative to imprisonment is a
community corrections order, which
includes doing community work and/or
counseling. The best way to avoid a
term of imprisonment is to win your
case. If that is unlikely, then
pleading guilty and presenting a good
plea in mitigation of penalty can
reduce the risk of being sentenced to
any term of imprisonment. Factors that
increase the risk of imprisonment are
the number of prior offences, the age
of prior offences, the circumstances
of the current offence, whether there
are other charges laid, whether or not
you held a current licence at the time
of the offence, your personal
circumstances and who the magistrate
is.
Interlock
Conditions
Most drivers found guilty of drink
driving will not be relicensed unless
their new licence has an interlock
condition attached. This means the
driver can not lawfully drive any
vehicle unless that vehicle is fitted
with an interlock device. This
condition is imposed by a Magistrate
when the driver applies to the court
for permission to be relicensed. Since
1 October 2014 first offenders who
lose their licence with readings under
0.15% will automatically have a 6
month interlock condition imposed on
them by VicRoads without the need to
apply to a Magistrates Court for
permission to be re-licensed. Others
will have the interlock condition
imposed by the court that grants them
permission to be relicenced.
The driver must pay all the costs
associated with the installation and
maintenance of the interlock device.
VicRoads also charges an
administration fee of approximately
$50 per month to manage the interlock
condition that is imposed on your
licence. The interlock condition can
be removed only by order of a
Magistrate. The only way to avoid a
mandatory interlock condition is to
successfully defend the charges. Click
here to read more about
Interlock conditions.
Pleading
Guilty at Court.
Some people
wrongly assume that if they admit
the offence by pleading guilty and
show remorse and hardship, a
Magistrate can let them keep their
driver's licence. This option is not
available for drink drivers. A plea
of guilty will result in the
mandatory minimum period of licence
cancellation.
It
is NOT possible
to avoid license cancellation by
pleading guilty to a drink driving
or drug driving offence.
Because
the mandatory sentences for drink
driving are already quite severe,
there are hardly any advantages to
pleading guilty to drink driving. If
your priority is to avoid a
conviction being recorded then you
might be better off pleading guilty
rather than trying to fight and win.
Some people feel that avoiding a
conviction is more important than
trying to get an acquittal. And if
you are at risk of prison or have
been involved a serious accident,
then pleading guilty can help avoid
jail or keep the penalty to a
minimum. Pleading guilty can also
save you time, money and stress.
Pleading guilty can not save your
licence, or save you from fines or
interlocks or zero alcohol
conditions.
Work
Licences and Conditional licences.
Drink
Drivers can not get a "drive
for work" licence
or restricted licence in Victoria.
These options have never existed
here. Your friends who suggested
this option to you have been
watching too much TV. Victorians who
claim they had a drive
for work licence are lying to
you. They were in fact driving
unlawfully but didn't want to tell
you. The only way
to keep your licence is by pleading
not guilty.
Pleading
Not Guilty to save your licence:
Every accused is
entitled to plead not guilty. This
does not mean the accused must prove
they are innocent. The court already
presumes that to be the case so an
accused has absolutely nothing they
need to prove. What it means is the
police need to prove all facts and
other matters necessary to support a
finding of guilt. In most drink
driving cases, the police case needs
to be put to the test if you wish to
avoid licence loss. All the accused
needs to do is turn up to put the
police case to the test. In
mandatory licence loss cases, if you
do not want to test the prosecution
case and you have no defence of your
own, there is almost no chance of
avoiding licence loss. So if you
want to avoid mandatory license loss
you must go to court and in most
cases you must plead not guilty.
Interstate
and overseas licence holders.
Your interstate or overseas licence
can not be cancelled or suspended by
any Victorian law, court or
authority. This means you can
continue to use your interstate
licence outside of Victoria even if
you are ineligible to drive in
Victoria. If you are disqualified from
obtaining a Victorian licence this
means it is illegal to drive in
Victoria even if you hold a licence
issued in another jurisdiction.
Interstate licence holders may find
that their home-state licencing
authority has the power to cancel or
suspend their interstate drivers
licence if they become disqualified
from driving in Victoria. You are
entitled to use your interstate
licence anywhere outside of Victoria
for so long as it has not been
cancelled or suspended by your state
licencing authority. Driving in
Victoria during a period of
disqualification is an offence
punishable by imprisonment. Victorian
law can not prevent you from using a
non-Victorian licence in other states,
i.e. Victorian courts can not stop you
using your NSW or UK licence in other
states and they have no power to take
away your interstate licence. Also,
the police can not give a notice of
immediate licence suspension to a
person who does not hold a Victorian
licence. A person who holds a licence
issued in another state is not
eligible to do any of the re-licensing
steps in order to be permitted to
drive in Victoria at the completion of
their disqualification period. This
means they do not need to apply to a
Magistrates Court or complete a drink
driving education program before
resuming driving in Victoria.
Related
Pages:
Relicensing
applications
Interlock
conditions
Immediate
Licence Suspensions
Breath
Tests
Fines
Court
Process
|
