Drink Driving - Maximum Penalties
On this page, you will find useful information about drink driving penalties, including
- links to information about specific charges,
- a table listing the maximum drink driving drink driving penalties (both prison and disqualification), and
- a table lising the minimum period that a Magistrate can disqualify you for after finding you guilty of certain offences.
Drink Driving - Maximum Penalties
- Exceed PCA
- Exceed prescribed concentration of drugs s49(1)
- Exceed prescribed concentration of drugs s49 (1) (h)
- Refuse breath test - drink driving
- Refuse drug test - drug driving
- Refuse to give blood or urine sample
- Refuse to provide further sample
- Refuse to provide oral fluid
Maximum Penalty for DUI/ Driving Under the Influence
Maximum Penalty for Exceed PCA
Maximum Penalty for Refusal offences
Impaired by drug
Definitions
Automatic period of disqualification = period of disqualification you must get if found guilty of the offence.
Minimum period of disqualification = The minimum period of disqualification the Court can impose by law. This is the least they are allowed to give you.
Major Offences
- Drink driving
- Drug driving
- Exceed Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (exceed PCA)
- Refuse to accompany to Police Station
- Refuse Breath test
- Refuse to give blood or urine test
- Refuse Breath analysis
- DUI
- Driving under the influence
- s49 (1) (b) or s49 (1) (f) charges
Drink Driving Sentences: Disqualification Periods
To see the penalties, fines and maximum prison terms that can be given as drink driving sentences, click on the ticked box below. That will then open up a table with all the information from the Road Safety Act.| Hide Table |
| Offences - s49(1) | Penalty – s49 | Cancellation and Interlock – s50, s50AAA, s50AAB | |||||
| 1st Offence | 2nd Offence | 3rd and Subsequent Offences | 1st Offence | 2nd Offence | |||
| (a) Driving while under the influence of
drugs or alcohol to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle |
Fine of 25 Penalty Units
or up to 3 months imprisonment |
Fine of 120 Penalty Units or up to 12 months imprisonment
|
Fine of 180 Penalty Units or up to 18 months
imprisonment |
Must cancel for at least
2 years The Court must impose an interlock for at least 6 months |
Must cancel for at least 4 years
The Court must impose an interlock for at least 4 years |
||
| b) Exceed PCA .05 [Exceed 0.0 for L and P
plate drivers s52] (f) Exceed PCA .05 – breath test within 3 hours (g) Exceed PCA .05 – blood test within 3 hours |
Fine of 12 Penalty Units | Less than 0.15
Fine of 60 Penalty Units or up to 6 months imprisonment |
Greater than 0.15
Fine of 120 Penalty Units or up to 12 months imprisonment |
Less than 0.15
Fine of 120 Penalty Units or up to 12 months imprisonment |
Greater than 0.15
Fine of 180 Penalty Units or up to 18 months imprisonment |
P and L Drivers less than .05 the Court
may cancel for not more than 6 months If the court cancels the driver’s license then the court may also impose an interlock for at least 6 months. |
Must cancel a P or L Driver on a
subsequent offence for at least the minimum time listed in column 2 of Schedule 1 Less than .15 the Court must impose an interlock for at least 12 months More than .15 the Court must impose an interlock for at least 4 years |
| Less than .07 and the driver is 26 years
old or older the Court may choose not to record a conviction and not cancel the driver’s license If the court cancels the driver’s license then the court may also impose an interlock for at least 6 months. If the driver is under 26 and between .05 and .07 the court must impose an interlock for at least 6 months |
Less than .05
and the driver is 26 years old or older the Court may choose not to record a conviction and not cancel the driver’s license If the court cancels the driver’s license then the court must impose an interlock if: Less than .15 for at least 12 months More than .15 for at least 4 years |
||||||
| Greater than .07 the Court must cancel
for at least the minimum time listed in column 2 of Schedule 1 Less than .15 the Court may impose an interlock for at least 6 months More than .15 the Court must impose an interlock for at least 6 months |
Greater than.05 the Court must cancel
for at least the minimum time listed in column 2 of Schedule 1 Less than .15 the Court must impose an interlock for at least 12 months More than .15 the Court must impose an interlock for at least 4 years |
||||||
| (ba) impaired by drug | Fine of 12 Penalty Units | Fine of 120 Penalty Units or up to 12 months imprisonment | Fine of 180 Penalty Units or up to 18 months
imprisonment |
The Court must cancel for at least 12
months |
The Court must cancel for at least 2
years |
||
| (bb) illicit drugs
(h) 3 hours drugs (i) blood drugs |
Fine of 12 Penalty Units | Fine of 60 Penalty Units | Fine of 120 Penalty Units | The Court may cancel for not more than
6 months |
The Court may cancel for not more
than 12 months |
||
| (c) refuse breathe test
(ca) refuse drug test (d) refuse to stop (e) refuse to provide further sample (ea) refuse to give blood |
Fine of 12 Penalty Units | Fine of 120 Penalty Units or up to 12 months imprisonment | Fine of 180 Penalty Units or up to 18 months
imprisonment |
The Court must cancel for at least 2
years The Court must impose an interlock for at least 6 months |
The Court must cancel for at least 4
years The Court must impose an interlock for at least 4 years |
||
| (eb) refuse to provide oral fluid | Fine of 12 Penalty Units | Fine of 60 Penalty Units | Fine of 120 Penalty Units | The Court must cancel for at least 6
months |
The Court must cancel for at least 12
months |
||
| Accompanying Driver Offence | Fine of 5 Penalty Units | ||||||
Drink Driving Sentences: Minimum Disqualification Periods
View the table below to see the minimum disqualification periods for first time drink driving charges, and penalties for subsequent drink driving offences. The Table lists the mimimum drink driving sentence disqualification periods for a drink drive charge.
The first column is the reading for drink driving from the breathalyser. There is a discretion for less than .07 not to take a person's licence if certain other criteria are met. For all the other readings the penalty for drink driving is a mandatory minimum. That is the least the Magistrate has to give you.
The second set of possible drink driving sentences depend on when you were last charged. If it is outside 10 years the Magistrate does not have to impose the penalty but they often still increase from the minimum for a first offence of drink driving.
If you need legal representation or advice in relation to drink driving and drink driving penalties, contact us using the links to the top right of this page.
| DRINK DRIVING - MINIMUM DISQUALIFICATION PERIODS | ||
| Concentration of alcohol in blood in grams per 100 millilitres of blood or in breath in grams per 210 litres of exhaled air. |
First offence | Subsequent offence |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA less than .07 | 6 months | 12 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .07 or more but less than .08 | 6 months | 14 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .08 or more but less than .09 | 6 months | 16 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .09 or more but less than .10 | 6 months | 18 months |
| Drink driving penalty -PCA .10 or more but less than .11 | 10 months | 20 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .11 or more but less than .12 | 11 months | 22 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .12 or more but less than .13 | 12 months | 24 months |
| Drink driving penalty -PCA .13 or more but less than .14 | 13 months | 26 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .14 or more but less than .15 | 14 months | 28 months |
| Drink driving penalty -PCA .15 or more but less than .16 | 15 months | 30 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .16 or more but less than .17 | 16 months | 32 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .17 or more but less than .18 | 17 months | 34 months |
| Drink driving penalty -PCA .18 or more but less than .19 | 18 months | 36 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .19 or more but less than .20 | 19 months | 38 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .20 or more but less than .21 | 20 months | 40 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .21 or more but less than .22 | 21 months | 42 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .22 or more but less than .23 | 22 months | 44 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .23 or more but less than .24 | 23 months | 46 months |
| Drink driving penalty - PCA .24 or more | 24 months | 48 months |
