A driver’s licence can be suspended for a variety of reasons including:
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Accumulation of demerit points
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Speeding over 30km/h
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Any speeding offence if you are on a Provisional 1 licence
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Non payment of fines
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Immediate suspension following a drink driving offence, aggravated burnout or drive in a dangerous manner.
If your licence has been suspended it is illegal to drive on a road or road related area in a vehicle class to which the suspended licence relates to.
If you are caught driving whilst serving a suspension period you can be charged with ‘drive while suspended’ which is dealt with by a court.
Penalties for ‘drive while suspended’
The court has the discretion to impose a number of penalties for the charge of ‘drive while suspended’. It is important to note that if you plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) to the offence the court still has the discretion not to record a conviction against you. This is called a section 10 dismissal of the charge whereby you are found guilty but not convicted and penalised
The court will consider several factors in determining whether you are an appropriate candidate for a section 10 dismissal such as your driving record, your good character, your needs for a licence and your early plead of guilty.
If you plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) and the court does not consider it appropriate to exercise its disrection to issue a section 10, the court must at least impose a minimum disqualification period of 12 months for your first offence and 2 years for your second or subsequent offence. The court also has the discretion to impose fines, a gaol term, community service orders or a good behaviour bond. The possible penalties for ‘drive while suspended’ are detailed in the following table:
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PENALTIES
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FIRST OFFENCE
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SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENCE
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Maximum court imposed fine
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$3,300
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$5,500
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Maximum gaol term
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18 months
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2 years
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Minimum disqualification
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12 months
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2 years
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Maximum disqualification
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Unlimited
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Unlimited
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Disqualification in the absence of a specific court order (automatic period)
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12 months
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2 years
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Defending the charge of 'drive while suspended’
There are a number of defences available to driving whilst suspended including:
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Honest and reasonable mistake: an example is where you were not aware that your licence was cancelled or suspended because you did not receive notification from the RTA. You would need to put on evidence showing this.
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Challenging the legitimacy of the suspension on legal technicalities.
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You were not the driver at the time.
The most common defence is the honest and reasonable mistake.
How can Prime Lawyers help?
Our traffic lawyers have a wealth of experience and knowledge in this field of law. If you are pleading guilty to a drive while suspended charge we are able to appear at Court with you and make submissions to the court in an attempt to lessen the penalty that the Court imposes.
If you wish to defend the charge we can advise you of your chances of successfully defending the matter. Our traffic lawyers have extensive experience in presenting these matters to the court and their assistance will give you the greatest chance of obtaining a successful result.
Please contact our firm on (02) 9521 2222 to speak with one of our traffic lawyers today. Alternatively email your enquiry to us and we will contact you shortly.