What Happens in Court for Drink Driving in Queensland?
Drink Driving — 2026-04-20 — by Sacha Sarah Smith, Civic Law
What happens in court for a drink driving charge in Queensland. The process from first mention to sentence, and how to prepare.
For most people, a drink driving charge is the first time they have ever set foot inside a Magistrates Court . The day itself is short. The decisions made that day — the disqualification, the fine, whether a work licence is granted — last far longer.
Drink Driving Is a Traffic Offence Heard in the Magistrates Court
In Queensland, drink driving offence s sit under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld) — known in practice as the TORUM Act. Section 79 sets out the main offences: driving, attempting to put in motion, or being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or a drug, or while over a prescribed alcohol limit.
The TORUM Act distinguishes between the following offences:
Driving under the influence of liquor or a drug (DUI) — section 79(1). This is the most serious drink driving charge. It requires proof of impairment, not a specific BAC reading. It is a separate offence from exceeding a prescribed alcohol limit.
Driving over the middle alcohol limit (BAC of 0.10 to under 0.15) — section 79(1F).
A BAC of 0.150 or above — section 79(3) creates a conclusive presumption that the person was under the influence of liquor, meaning the person is deemed to have committed the DUI offence under section 79(1). This is the most serious drink driving charge category, with higher penalties and no work licence eligibility.
Driving over the general alcohol limit (BAC of 0.05 to less than 0.10) — section 79(2).
Driving over the no alcohol limit — applicable to learners, probationary and provisional licence holders, drivers of certain commercial vehicles, and others — section 79(2A) or (2B).
Drink driving is classified as a simple offence and is dealt with in the Magistrates Court. There is no jury, no committal to the District Court, and no separate sentencing hearing in another courtroom. The matter starts and finishes in the same place — usually on the same day, if the matter is properly prepared.
A drink driving conviction is recorded on a person's traffic history rather than their criminal history. That distinction matters for employment and licensing checks, and it is a common reason people instruct a lawyer to put proper material before the court at sentence.
How the Matter Gets to Court
After a roadside breath test and an evidentiary test at the station, police decide what charge to lay. For most drink driving matters, police issue a Notice to Appear under section 382 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld). That notice records the charge, the court, the date, and the time the person must attend.
The court is almost always the Magistrates Court closest to where the offence occurred. For people charged in Cairns and the surrounding region, that usually means appearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court.
Where the charge is driving under the influence (section 79(1)) — including where a BAC of 0.150 or above triggers the conclusive presumption under section 79(3) — driving over the middle alcohol limit (section 79(1F)), or failing to provide a specimen, the licence is also suspended immediately at the time of charging under section 79B of the TORUM Act.
That suspension starts when the person is charged and continues until the matter is dealt with by a court, withdrawn, or otherwise discontinued. From the moment of charge, the person cannot lawfully drive — full stop — unless and until a replacement licence is granted under section 79E or a restricted licence is granted at sentence under section 87.
A drink driving charge that may result in disqualification cannot be dealt with by an online guilty plea. Where a conviction may lead to licence disqualification, an online plea will not be accepted by the court. The person, or a lawyer, has to appear.
Arriving at Court
Magistrates Courts in Queensland generally start sitting at 9:00 am. People charged with traffic matters are expected to be there from the start, even though their matter may not be reached for some hours. The court list is long, and matters are not heard in the order they appear on the daily list.
In practice, matters are typically called in this order:
Matters with legal representation are usually heard first
Adjournment applications next
Self-represented guilty pleas last
That ordering is not a rule of law — it reflects the practical management of a busy list. Where a defendant is represented, the lawyer can speak briefly to the prosecutor, confirm the position, and have the matter called early. A self-represented person waiting to plead guilty without a lawyer should expect to wait.
Before court starts, the police prosecutor will usually provide a copy of the QP9 — the court brief prepared by police that sets out a summary of facts, the breath analysis certificate, and the defendant's traffic and criminal history. That document is what the magistrate will read at sentence. If anything in it is inaccurate, that needs to be raised with the prosecutor before the matter is called — not after.
The First Appearance
The first court date is usually called a first mention. For most drink driving matters, the first mention is also the sentence — provided the defendant is ready to plead guilty and any work licence application is prepared.
When the matter is called, the defendant is asked to come forward to the bar table. The sequence inside the courtroom typically runs as follows:
The magistrate confirms the defendant's identity and the charge.
The defendant is asked to enter a plea — guilty or not guilty.
If the plea is guilty, the prosecutor reads the outline of facts from the QP9 and tenders the breath analysis certificate and the defendant's traffic history.
The defendant, or the defendant's lawyer, is given an opportunity to make submissions on penalty.
Any work licence application is heard at this point.
The magistrate imposes sentence.
Each stage is short. The hearing as a whole, including a contested work licence application, is usually a matter of minutes.
The Prosecution Case at Sentence
When a guilty plea is entered, the prosecutor outlines the facts of the offending. For drink driving, that outline is short and largely formulaic. It typically covers:
The location and time the defendant was intercepted
The roadside breath test result and the evidentiary breath analysis result at the station
The circumstances of the driving (highway, suburban street, manner of driving, any traffic event)
Any admissions made
The defendant's traffic history, including any prior drink driving convictions
Every element of that outline is drawn from the QP9. Where the facts as recorded are wrong — or where the manner of driving is described in a way that overstates what occurred — the time to correct that is before the prosecutor reads the facts to the magistrate, not after sentence has been imposed.
The prosecutor also tenders the certificate of breath analysis. Under sections 80(15G) and 80(16FA) of the TORUM Act, a breath, saliva or blood sample taken not more than three hours after the driving is conclusive evidence of the BAC or relevant drug present at the time of driving, unless the analysing instrument is shown to have been defective or not properly operated. That deeming provision is why the reading itself is rarely contested at sentence: the law treats the certificate as conclusive of the reading at the time of driving unless a specific defence is raised.
Submissions on Penalty
After the prosecution outlines the facts, the magistrate hears from the defendant or their lawyer on penalty. This is the only formal opportunity to put personal circumstances before the court before sentence is imposed.
What goes into submissions varies, but for drink driving matters the material that consistently moves a sentencing outcome includes:
The defendant's traffic history — particularly any clean record over the preceding five years
Employment circumstances and the role the licence plays in that employment
Family responsibilities, including dependants and caring obligations
The reason for driving on the occasion of the offence
Whether anyone else was in the vehicle, and whether a crash or property damage occurred
Steps taken since the offence — for example, completion of a recognised drink driving program
Character references from people who can speak to the defendant's circumstances
These are factors the court actively weighs when fixing the period of disqualification, the size of the fine, and — for eligible defendants — whether to grant a restricted work licence.
The magistrate may ask questions. The defendant should expect to be addressed as the person responsible for what happened, and to answer accordingly. Submissions that minimise the offending, or that deflect responsibility onto others, consistently produce worse outcomes than honest acknowledgement coupled with a clear account of what is being done about it.
What the Magistrate Decides
For every drink driving conviction in Queensland, the TORUM Act mandates a period of licence disqualification - that means a disqualification period must be imposed. The magistrate has no discretion to impose no disqualification at all. What the magistrate has discretion over is the length of the disqualification, the size of the fine, whether to record the conviction on the traffic history, and — for eligible defendants — whether to grant a work licence.
The minimum and maximum disqualification periods set out in the TORUM Act for first offenders are per the table provided.
Those are the statutory ranges. Section 86(2A) of the TORUM Act requires the court, in fixing the period of disqualification, to have regard to the BAC reading and the danger, real or potential, to the public in the circumstances of the case. Magistrates routinely impose disqualifications well above the statutory minimum where the BAC is high within its bracket, where the manner of driving was aggravated, where there are passengers (particularly children), where a crash occurred, or where the defendant has prior traffic convictions.
For repeat offenders, the position is materially harsher. Where the defendant has a prior conviction within the preceding five years, both the minimum and maximum disqualification periods set by section 86 increase.
Section 79(1C) of the TORUM Act requires the court to impose a sentence of imprisonment, as the whole or part of the punishment, where a person is convicted of a section 79(1) offence and has been twice previously convicted within the preceding five years of a section 79(1) offence, an indictable offence connected with driving, or an offence against section 328A of the Criminal Code .
The magistrate also decides whether to record the conviction on the defendant's traffic history. The default is that a conviction will be recorded. The court has discretion not to — and that discretion can matter for people who work in the transport industry or whose role depends on a clean traffic record — but it requires the point to be put properly, with reasons, at sentence.
The Work Licence Application
The work licence — formally a restricted licence under section 87 of the TORUM Act — is the order that allows a person to continue driving for work purposes during a disqualification period. It is not automatic. It must be applied for at the time of sentence under section 87(2), and the applicant carries the burden of proof. You can check your eligibility here .
A defendant is eligible to apply for a work licence under section 87 only if:
The conviction is for an offence under section 79 or section 80(5A). Where the charge is driving under the influence under section 79(1), a work licence is unavailable (s 87(5)(da)). This includes readings of 0.150 or above — section 79(3) creates a conclusive presumption of DUI at that level, meaning the charge is laid under s 79(1) and work licence eligibility is barred. Only convictions under s 79(2) (general alcohol limit) or s 79(1F) (middle alcohol limit — BAC 0.100 to 0.149) retain work licence eligibility;
The applicant held a Queensland provisional or open licence at the time of the offence and immediately before the disqualification (s 87(5)(e), (f));
The applicant has not had a provisional or open licence suspended, cancelled, or been disqualified within the 5 years before the application is made (s 87(5)(b)) — subject to the exceptions listed in section 87(5B);
The applicant has not been convicted within the preceding 5 years of an offence under section 79, section 80(5A), or section 328A of the Criminal Code (or an equivalent offence outside Queensland) (s 87(5)(c));
The applicant was not driving in the course of an activity directly connected with their means of earning a living at the time of the offence (s 87(5)(d)(i));
The applicant was not, at the time of the offence, driving a vehicle they were not authorised to drive under a provisional or open licence, or already the holder of a restricted licence (s 87(5)(d)(ii)–(iii));
If eligible, the applicant must then satisfy the court of two further matters under section 87(5)(a):
That the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold a restricted licence, having regard to the safety of other road users and the public generally; and
That refusing the application would cause extreme hardship to the applicant or the applicant's family by depriving them of their means of earning a livelihood
Where the applicant is not self-employed, section 87(5A) requires the applicant to produce an affidavit from their employer confirming that loss of licence would deprive them of that income. The application is made on the approved form, supported by the applicant's own affidavit, and is heard immediately after the plea of guilty is entered and before the magistrate determines the disqualification period.
If granted, the restricted licence is conditional. Under section 87(4), conditions must restrict the use of the licence to circumstances directly connected with the applicant's means of earning a livelihood, and may also specify the class of vehicle, the purpose of driving, and the times during which driving is permitted.
The conditions are tailored to the work the applicant has put before the court — which is one of the reasons the affidavit material has to be specific, accurate, and complete.
Under section 87(6), where a restricted licence is granted, the maximum disqualification period the court may impose is doubled. Section 87(6A) requires the court to treat the granting of a restricted licence as a circumstance indicating that the disqualification should be longer than it would otherwise have been.
There is no general right of appeal against a refusal of a work licence application under section 87. If the affidavit material is inadequate, or the application is run without proper preparation, that decision generally stands.
After the Decision
Once the magistrate has imposed sentence, the defendant must surrender their physical driver licence. If the licence is not on hand, it must be returned to Queensland Transport without delay.
A person whose licence has just been disqualified cannot drive home from court. That sounds obvious, but it catches people out — including people who drove themselves to court that morning. Alternative transport needs to be arranged in advance.
If a fine has been imposed, payment is generally managed through the State Penalties Enforcement Registry. Time to pay can be requested at the time of sentence.
The disqualification starts from the date of sentence (subject to any pre-sentence suspension being credited under section 86(7)). It runs for the full period set by the magistrate. Driving while disqualified by court order is a separate offence under section 78 of the TORUM Act, carrying a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment, and a further mandatory disqualification of 2 to 5 years.
When the Matter Is Not Finalised on the First Date
Most drink driving matters are finalised on the first appearance, but not all. A matter will be adjourned to another date where:
The defendant is not yet ready to enter a plea — for example, where legal advice has not yet been obtained or the QP9 needs to be reviewed
A work licence application is being prepared and the supporting affidavits are not complete
The defendant is contesting the charge and the matter needs to be set down for a defended hearing
The prosecution has not yet provided full disclosure (uncommon in straightforward drink driving matters but possible where the case involves contested manner of driving or a related charge)
An adjournment is a procedural step, not a setback. What it preserves is the opportunity to put proper material before the court before a decision is made. An adjournment requested early — for the right reason, with a clear plan for what will be done in the intervening period — is far more valuable than trying to repair a sentence after the fact.
Why Preparation Is Decisive
The court process for a drink driving charge in Queensland is short, structured, and largely procedural. The decisions made within it are not. A disqualification of three months instead of nine is the difference between being off the road for a season and being off the road for the better part of a year. A successful work licence application is the difference between continuing to earn an income and not.
The factors that drive those outcomes are largely set before the matter is called — in the QP9 the prosecutor reads from, in the traffic history that is tendered, and in the affidavit material filed in support of any work licence application. By the time the magistrate begins to speak, the runway for influencing the outcome has narrowed almost to nothing.
If you are facing a drink driving charge in Cairns or across Far North Queensland, Civic Law can advise on your matter from the outset — including reviewing the QP9, preparing submissions on penalty, and preparing a section 87 work licence application. Contact Civic Law to arrange a consultation before your court date.
Drink Driving — Guilty Plea
Work Licence Application