Victoria has mandatory sentencing for drink driving offences. The best outcome is to be found not guilty or to be acquitted, whereby you can avoid losing your licence. Further penalties apply for second or third offences, with more than one in the past decade.

If you really need to keep your licence, you will need a good lawyer who understands the land of drink driving penalties, like Vanessa Ash. Contact us today for a free chat about your circumstances to see if we can help you keep your licence, stay out of prison, and avoid fines.

     Your first drink driving offence

If you haven’t had a drink driving offence in the past 10 years, this offence is treated as a first.

     Subsequent drink driving offences

Any offences where you were found guilty or convicted of a drink or drug driving offence anywhere in Australia within a 10-year period are considered subsequent offences. The 10 years is counted from the date your last penalty was imposed (not the date of the actual offence) to the date of the new offence. This only applies to drink driving offences, not just any offence.

     From 2014, the following loss of licence for drink driving rules apply:

(BAC means Blood Alcohol Concentration)

• BAC under 0.05 per cent without a full licence gets three months loss of licence, with subsequent offences loss for 12 months
• BAC under 0.05 per cent with a full licence gets usually six months loss of licence, with subsequent offences loss of 6-12 months
• BAC 0.05-0.07 per cent with a full licence aged over 26 gets six months loss of licence, with subsequent offences loss of 6-12 months
• BAC 0.05-0.07 per cent aged under 27 gets six months loss of licence, with subsequent offences loss of 12 months
• BAC over 0.07 per cent any age gets at least six months loss of licence, often much more, with subsequent offences loss of minimum 12 months, often much more

     Fines and prison maximums for drink driving

• All first offenders = $1,400 with no prison
• Second offenders under 0.15 per cent BAC = $7,000 and max six months prison
• Second offenders 0.15 per cent or more BAC/refusing a requirement = $14,000 and max 12 months prison
• Third offenders under 0.15 per cent BAC = $14,000 and max 12 months prison
• Third offenders 0.15 per cent or more BAC/refusing a requirement = $21,000 and max 18 months prison

     How your punishment is applied and who does it

Losing your licence is now almost a given, with stiffer drink driving penalties than ever before, including for drivers who blow 0.07 per cent or less. The system is becoming very complex, with mandatory sentencing and a significant loss of discretion by Magistrate Judges to assess a case on its merits. A Magistrate can now only use his or her discretion when deciding if a truck, taxi or bus driver who blows less than 0.05 per cent can keep their licence. This isn’t much discretion at all.

This means wriggle room is kept to a minimum for trying to save your licence, and a good lawyer is more important than ever.

     Getting a reduced punishment by pleading guilty (it’s not a thing)

Just pleading guilty and acting sorry will not help your case, as it’s out of your Magistrate’s hands. There are almost no reasons to plead guilty to a drink driving charge, but it can save you a lot of stress and money just dealing with the outcome of a drink driving charge. There is also no such thing in Victoria as ‘drive for work’ conditions, so forget that. If you lose your licence and require it for your job, you will likely lose your job too.

     Your interstate or overseas drivers licences cannot be cancelled in Victoria

If your Victorian licence is cancelled, you are unable to legally drive in Victoria, but you are able to drive in other states in Australia and overseas on another licence. Some interstate licences can be cancelled by some authorities if they know you hold such a licence, but this is not a Victorian law and Victoria state has no power to take away your other licences.

Police cannot suspend a licence that is not from Victoria, either, so at the end of your disqualification from driving in Victoria, you can resume driving in Victoria and do not have to use an interlock or complete a drink driving education program.

     Getting sent to prison for drink driving

Generally, you will not be sent to prison for a drink driving offence, but you can be. The more you are caught drink driving, the more chance you have of being sentenced to prison. Damage caused is also taken into consideration when sentencing, but suspended sentences are unfortunately no longer an option in Victoria. You may end up with what’s known as a Community Corrections Order, which may include community work and/or counselling.

Winning your case is one of the best ways to avoid prison, but if winning is practically speaking an unlikely scenario, pleading guilty and trying to mitigate penalties using what is available to you and your lawyer is the best way to at least reduce your sentence where possible.

There are several factors that will determine a prison sentence:

• The judge
• Your personal circumstances
• Your age
• How many prior offences you have
• The offence circumstances
• Your licence status at the time of the offence

     Interlocks

You may have to have an interlock device attached to your car once you get your licence back, which is expensive and annoying, but necessary. The interlock breath tests you and photographs you each time you drive the car to ensure you have not been drinking, then the results are analysed and sent to the interlock company for future reference.

Losing your licence can get very expensive in more ways that one.
Get Vanessa Ash to help keep your licence with a solid defence.