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Traffic Offences

This is an information sheet on the law as it relates to traffic offences in NSW. It has been produced in collaboration between UOW Pulse and Astor Legal, a team of specialist Sydney traffic lawyers.

There are a wide range of traffic offences which carry penalties and disqualifications commensurate with their severity.

If you are facing a traffic infringement or charge, you can use the below guide to get a basic understanding of your options. If you would like legal advice, you can contact Astor Legal on (02) 7804 2823 or email them at info@astorlegal.com.au. All UOW students are entitled to one free conference.

Drink Driving Offences

Drink driving laws in NSW have undergone significant changes in the last few years which has emphasised the seriousness of these offences.

A first offence of low-range drink driving, novice range drink driving or special range drink driving can now be dealt with by way of an infringement notice of $561 and an immediate police suspension of your driver licence for 3 months (see: section 224 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW)).

A first offence is defined in Section 9 of the Road Transport Act 2013 as a person who has not been convicted of a ‘major traffic offence’ within the last 5 years from the date of conviction for the present offence.

The below tables set out drink driving penalties and disqualifications.

Low range drink driving, special range drink driving, novice range drink driving

Mid range drink driving

High range drink driving

Guideline Judgement for Drink Driving

The guideline judgement for drink driving sets out a number of basic principles which are to be applied when sentencing for these offences. Drink driving lawyers explain that this is a useful decision to understand why avoiding a conviction for drink driving has been more difficult.

The court set out that an ordinary case of an offence of drive with high range PCA involves:

The court held that in imposing sentence, in an ordinary case of an offence of high range drink driving, an order under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 will rarely be appropriate. A conviction cannot be avoided only because the offender has attended, or will attend, a driver education or awareness course. The automatic disqualification period will be appropriate unless there is a good reason to reduce the period of disqualification which may include:

(a) the nature of the offender’s employment;

(b) the absence of any viable alternative transport;

(c) sickness or infirmity of the offender or another person.

In an ordinary case of a second or subsequent high range drink driving offence, an order under section 9 of the Act will rarely be appropriate. An order under section 10 of the Act would very rarely be appropriate. Where the prior offence was a high range drink driving offence, any sentence of less severity than a community service order would generally be inappropriate.

The moral culpability of an offender is increased by:

In a case where the moral culpability of a high range PCA offender is increased, an order under 9 or s 10 of the Act would very rarely be appropriate. Where a number of factors of aggravation are present to a significant degree, a sentence of any less severity than imprisonment would generally be inappropriate.

In a case where the moral culpability of the offender of a second or subsequent high range PCA offence is increased, a sentence of any less severity than imprisonment of some kind would generally be inappropriate. Where any number of aggravating factors are present to a significant degree or where the prior offence is a high range PCA offence, a sentence of less severity than full-time imprisonment would generally be inappropriate.

This risk of imprisonment also applies to drive under influence (DUI) offences where a number of aggravating features are present.

Parking Offences

Parking offences generally do not carry demerit points. They are usually dealt with by way of an infringement requiring you to pay a fine. Most parking tickets are fine only offences however some infringements such as parking near a school crossing or parking in a disabled parking spot also mean a loss of demerit points. Parking infringements can be expensive too with some tickets now being over $500.

There are also issues with private car parks issuing ‘fines’ to people who park longer than allowed. These are generally a contractual issue and not a matter that is defended in court in the same way a parking ticket issued by the government can be.

The following are some examples parking offences:

You can contest a parking fine by:

Speeding Offences

The table below sets out the maximum speeding fines NSW and automatic licence disqualifications that can be imposed by a court:

Licence suspension for demerit points

Your driver licence will be suspended if you accrue more demerit points than your limit. The following demerit point limits apply:

The following are the demerit point suspensions if you hold a full licence:

The below table sets out the usual fines and demerit points a person will receive from traffic infringements:

What Happens When I Receive a Fine?

Once you receive a fine, you will generally have 28 days to pay it. You can either pay the amount in full or ask to go on a payment plan. You can also elect the fine to court if you wish to contest it.

If you do not pay the fine by the due date, you will then receive a ‘Penalty Reminder Notice’ providing you with a further 28 days to pay the fine. At this stage, you will also be unable to elect the fine to court if you wish to contest it.

If you do not pay the fine within that 28 day period, you will then receive an ‘Overdue Fine Notice’. This will include an additional fee – usually $65. You will then have a further 21 days to pay this.

If you continue to not pay the fine, Revenue NSW can commence enforcement action. The enforcement order will give you a further 21 days to pay the fine. If you still do not pay the fine, the following actions may be taken:

In some cases, payment still will not have been made. In this case, the matter may be referred to court where Revenue NSW can seek:

If you still don’t pay the fine, you may be asked to complete community service work through a community service order. This is counted at $15 per hour until the amount is paid off. If you do not complete a community service order satisfactorily, you can be arrested and face jail time. An amount of $120 per day will be wiped off the amount of the fine as long as you are in jail. The maximum term of imprisonment that can be imposed is three months. The term of imprisonment can be served by way of an intensive correction order, which allows you to remain in the community while serving the sentence.

If you are faced with a situation similar to this, you can contact Wollongong criminal lawyers who will be able to provide advice and representations if required.

How to Contest a Traffic Fine

You can contest a traffic fine by electing it to Court instead of paying it.

In order to elect the fine to court you will need to submit a court election form. This is available on the Revenue NSW website, or you can apply by writing to Revenue NSW. If you correctly elect the fine to court, you will then receive a Court Attendance Notice. The notice will provide the necessary information regarding the location and hearing date. 

You can either plead not guilty or guilty to the offence. 

If you are pleading not guilty to the offence, then the prosecution will have to prove you in fact committed the offence. If you are pleading guilty to the offence, you can ask the court for leniency and the imposition of a section 10 dismissal. This will mean that you will not incur the demerit points or the fine.

If you are a provisional driver such as a p-plater, then you have the option of paying the penalty notice and then you can appeal demerit points suspension to Court.

Payment of the penalty notice for a mobile phone offence will automatically incur the demerit points against your licence. If these points will cause you to exceed your demerit point limit, you will be subject to a demerit point suspension.

However, you can appeal licence suspension NSW by filing a licence appeal once you receive the RMS suspension letter. This will lodge an appeal of the licence suspension with the court.

At court, a Magistrate can either allow the appeal by eliminating your suspension period, vary the licence suspension period by reducing to a degree or dismiss the appeal and not reduce the suspension period.

Is there a work drivers’ licence in NSW?

There is no work exemption drivers’ licence in NSW. If you have gone over your demerit point limit, you may be able to elect to go on a good behaver licence in some cases. This means that you can keep driving but will only have two demerit points for the next 12 months.

If you go over this 2 demerit point limit, you will face double the disqualification you faced when you applied for the good behaviour licence. Because of this, most people choose to lodge an appeal as opposed to the good behaviour licence.

Driving while Suspended

Driving while suspended in an offence under Section 54 of the Road Transport Act 2013. It is defined as a person who attempts to put a motor vehicle in motion on a road or road related area while their driving privileges have been suspended.

The following defences to drive while suspended apply:

The penalties for driving while suspended will be based on the type of offence you are charged with. If you are caught driving on a suspended licence in NSW, there are two types of offences you can be charged with.

The most common offence is under Section 54(3) of the Road Transport Act 2013. The maximum penalty for Driving While Suspended (first offence) under this section is 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $3300. The maximum penalty for Driving While Suspended (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $5500.

The automatic disqualification for Driving While Suspended (first offence) is 6 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Suspended (first offence) is 3 months.

The automatic disqualification for Driving While Suspended (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Suspended (Second or Subsequent offence) is 6 months.

There is also a separate offence for Driving While Suspended due to non-payment of fines (Section 54(5)(a) of the Road Transport Act 2013). The maximum penalty for Driving While Suspended due to non-payment of fines (first offence) is a fine of $3300. The maximum penalty for Driving While Suspended due to non-payment of fines (Second or Subsequent offence) is 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $5500.

The automatic disqualification for Drive While Suspended (first offence) is 3 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Suspended (first offence) is 1 month. The automatic disqualification for Driving While Suspended (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Suspended (Second or Subsequent offence) is 3 months.

Drive while disqualified

It is a criminal offence to drive while disqualified under Section 54 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). You can be found guilty of this offence if you drove a vehicle on a road or road related area while you were disqualified from driving.

The following defences to driving while disqualified can be used:

The maximum penalty for Driving While Disqualified (first offence) is 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $3300. The automatic disqualification for Driving While Disqualified (first offence) is 6 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Disqualified (first offence) is 3 months.

The maximum penalty for Driving While Disqualified (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $5500. The automatic disqualification for Driving While Disqualified (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months. The minimum disqualification for Driving While Disqualified (Second or Subsequent offence) is 6 months.

Drive in Manner Dangerous

It is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle in a manner dangerous under section 117(2) of the Road Transport Act 2013.

The offence of dangerous driving is established where the driver so seriously fails to properly control and manage the vehicle that he or she creates a real danger of harm to other persons in or around the vicinity of the vehicle far exceeding that which arises simply from the normal use of a motor vehicle. The court is concerned with the risk of harm arising from the manner of driving, rather than the result of the driving.

There are also more serious offences depending on the level of injury occasioned to a victim. The first is dangerous driving occasioning death. This offence is contained in Section 52A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The second is dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

The defences to dangerous driving are:

The maximum penalty for a first offence of drive manner dangerous is 9 months jail and/or a maximum fine of $2,200. There is an automatic licence disqualification of 3 years and a minimum disqualification of 1 year.

The maximum penalty for a second or subsequent offence is a $3,300 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment. There is an automatic disqualification of 5 years and a minimum disqualification of 2 years.

The maximum penalty for dangerous driving occasioning death is 10 years imprisonment.

The maximum penalty for dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm is 7 years imprisonment.

Negligent driving

Negligent driving is driving without the due care and attention reasonably expected of a driver. It is an offence under section 117 of the Road Transport Act (2013).

If it is a person’s first offence, the maximum penalty is $2,200 and/or 9 months imprisonment. If it is a person’s second (or subsequent) offence, the maximum penalty is a $3,300 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment.

There is no disqualification for negligent driving, however if dealt with by way of an infringement notice there are demerit points that will be incurred.

There are also more serious offences of negligent driving causing death and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.