WORK LICENCE QLD EXPERTS

PHONE US TODAY ON

1800 529 000 BECAUSE

YOU NEED TO SAVE

YOUR DRIVER LICENCE 

WHAT IS A WORK LICENCE?

 

If you get convicted of drink driving, the Court will disqualify you from holding a driver licence for at least a month. If you get convicted of drug driving, you also face a similar situation. Many people rely upon their driver licence to do their job; without it, they could not earn income. Losing their licence may cause them or their family to experience extreme financial hardship.

If you are charged with drink driving or drug driving and need your driver’s licence for work, you may be eligible for a Work Licence. A Work Licence is an Order of the Court allowing you to drive in certain circumstances connected with your work. You cannot drive for personal reasons like going to the supermarket. If the Court makes a Work Licence, your driver licence is suspended. Still, the Work Licence allows you to drive in certain situations for work.

 

 

WHO CAN APPLY FOR A WORK LICENCE IN QLD?

 

To be eligible to apply for a Work Licence:

1. You must be charged and plead guilty to one of the following offences:

(a) Drink driving where the blood alcohol concentration is less than 0.15%.

(b) Failing to provide a specimen of breath or saliva on the roadside (i.e. not at the police station).

(c) Driving while a relevant drug (Cannabis, Ecstasy, or Ice) is in your blood or saliva.

2. You held an open driver licence at the time of the offence.

3. You are a fit and proper person to continue driving, considering your traffic history and the safety of other road users and the public generally.

4. A refusal to make the Work Licence would cause you or your family extreme hardship by depriving you of the means of earning a living.

 

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A WORK LICENCE?

 

You are not eligible to apply for a Work Licence if:

• You have been disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence five years before applying for the Work Licence. Some exceptions exist, for example, if your licence was suspended by the State Penalties and Enforcement Registry (SPER) because you did not pay a fine.

• You have been convicted of the following offences in the five years before making the application for the Work Licence:

(a) Driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug.

(b) Failing to provide police with a specimen of breath for a breath test or a sample of saliva for a saliva test

(c) Failing to provide police with a specimen of breath for a breath test or a sample of saliva for a saliva test in the manner directed by the police officer who made the request.

(d) Committing outside of Queensland an offence equivalent to the above specified at (a) to (c).

(e) Dangerous operation of a vehicle under s328A Criminal Code (also known as dangerous driving).

• • You were driving for work at the time of the offence.
  • You were driving a motor vehicle you were not authorised to drive at the time of the offence.
  • You were the holder of a Work Licence at the time of the offence.
  • You were driving a tram, a train or a vessel at the time of the offence.
  • You were the holder of a class RE licence for less than one year in the five years before the offence.
  • You were driving a truck, a bus, an articulated motor vehicle, a B-double, a road train, a vehicle carrying a placard load of dangerous goods, a tow truck which is licensed or should be licensed under the Tow Truck Act 1973 while it operates as a tow truck under that Act, a pilot or escort vehicle that is escorting an oversize vehicle, a vehicle that has, or is required to have, a taxi service licence or limousine licence under the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994, a vehicle while a driver trainer is using it to give driver training, a specially constructed vehicle within the meaning of the driver licensing regulation or a tractor that is not a specially constructed vehicle.

 

WHAT CONDITIONS MAY BE INCLUDED IN A WORK LICENCE?

 

A Work Licence may include the following conditions:
♦the purpose for which a motor vehicle may be driven under the licence.
♦ the class of motor vehicle you can drive.
♦ the times of days and the days of the week you can drive a vehicle.
♦ if you need to keep a logbook of your driving.
♦ If you can carry passengers in your vehicle when driving.
♦If you need to wear a uniform when driving.

 

WHAT MUST YOU SHOW THE COURT TO BE GIVEN A WORK LICENCE?

 

1. You hold an open driver licence.
2. You held an open driver licence at the time of the offence.
3. You are a fit and proper person for a Work Licence. To satisfy this, the Court determines if you are a risk to road users or the public.
4. You or your family would suffer extreme hardship because you could not earn an income without your driver licence.
The Court will not grant you a Work Licence because it is more convenient for you to drive. You need to show the Court that you cannot do your job without a driver licence. If you do not need your driver licence once you get to your workplace, but you need it to get to and from work, then you may qualify. Such situations may arise where no public transport or no one can drive you.

 

WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE MY CHANCES OF GETTING A WORK LICENCE?

 

If you want to improve your chances of getting a Work Licence, there are three key things you need to do:

1. Prepare a comprehensive affidavit demonstrating to the Court why you need a driver licence for your work and why you are a fit and proper person to hold a driver licence.

2. Get character references from persons who know you well.

3. Complete a traffic offender program.

 

TRAFFIC OFFENDER PROGRAMS

 

As part of your application, you must be able to show the Court you are a fit and proper person to hold a driver licence (i.e. you are not a risk to other road users). Completing a traffic offender program is positively looked upon by the Courts. It assists in helping to show the Court you are a fit and proper person to hold a driver licence.

There are a few options regarding traffic offender programs (the most well-known being QTOP), a few of which are detailed below.

1. The Queensland Traffic Offender’s Program (QTOP).  
2. Road Sense Australia’s Traffic Offender Program. 
3. SAVE – Traffic Offender Intervention Program. 

 

 

WHEN MUST THE APPLICATION FOR A WORK LICENCE BE MADE TO THE COURT?

 

You must apply for the Work Licence before being sentenced for the drink driving or drug driving offence. You cannot apply for a Work Licence after you have been sentenced.

To ensure your application is not refused and to ensure things go smoothly, you should:

1. File the application for a Work Licence in the Court before your sentence hearing.
2. Serve your application and a copy of your supporting affidavit material on the prosecution at least seven days before your hearing date.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CANNOT FILE YOUR APPLICATION FOR A WORK LICENCE AT LEAST 7 DAYS BEFORE YOUR COURT DATE?

 

You will likely have been issued a notice to appear by the police for the drink driving or drug driving charge, telling you to go to Court on a date. In most situations, the court date will come around before you have time to file your application for the Work Licence and get your affidavit material ready. If this happens, you can tell the Court you will be pleading guilty to the charge, but you want to make an application for a Work Licence.

 

GOING TO COURT TO APPLY FOR AN ADJOURNMENT TO FILE YOUR WORK LICENCE APPLICATION

 

The Magistrate courthouses generally open at 8:30 am. It is common practice for the Court to start at 9:00 am. You want to get to Court early because the sooner you speak to the police prosecutor about your case, the earlier you will likely be out of Court.

 

INSIDE THE COURTROOM

 

Whenever the Magistrate is sitting in the courtroom, you must bow towards the coat of arms in the centre of the room (the Magistrate usually sits below it) when you enter and exit the courtroom.

 

When you enter the courtroom, a queue of persons will likely be waiting to speak to a police prosecutor. The police prosecutor stands to the far right of the bar table (the table in the centre of the courtroom). The police prosecutor usually wears a blue suit or blue shirt with a police badge. You need to join the queue, and when you speak to the police prosecutor, you can tell them:

“I will be asking the Magistrate to adjourn my matter for sentence because I am making an application for a Work Licence.”

Once you have spoken to the police prosecutor, you will need to sit in the back of the courtroom (the public gallery) and wait for your name to be called out by the prosecutor. When your name is called out, you can go to the left side of the bar table. The Magistrate will confirm with you what your name is.

 

WHAT TO TELL THE MAGISTRATE WHEN ASKING FOR THE ADJOURNMENT

 

Your Honour, I am seeking my matter to be listed for sentence because I am applying for a Work Licence.

The Magistrate should list your matter for hearing and advise that you are granted bail on your own undertaking. The Magistrate will tell you to wait at the court registry to sign the bail undertaking. After your court appearance, you need to stay at the court registry for your name to be called out by a clerk of the Court. When your name is called out, you must sign the bail undertaking (a promise you will turn up to Court on the next occasion).

 

FILING YOUR MATERIAL FOR THE WORK LICENCE APPLICATION IN THE COURT REGISTRY

 

When you file your material for a Work Licence Application in the Court, the steps are as follows:

1. You need to take the original of each affidavit you are relying upon and two copies of each of them.
2. You must complete the Restricted Licence Application (Work Licence Application Form). The form is generally available at the courthouse registry (you may have to ask a clerk at the court registry for it).
3. Once you have completed the Restricted Licence Application Form, you give it to the clerk:
4. The completed Restricted Licence Application Form and
5. The original of each affidavit you are relying upon and two copies of each of them.
6. The Clerk of the Court should stamp each affidavit and hand you back the two copies of each affidavit and two copies of the Restricted Licence Application Form.

 

SERVING YOUR WORK LICENCE APPLICATION ON THE PROSECUTION

 

You must serve a court-sealed copy of your Work Licence Application form and each affidavit. Ideally, you would type up a letter enclosing the material. However, you can always hand it to the prosecution if you do not have time for this. If you do this, note the name of the person you give it to and the date and time you do it. You want to do this because if, for some reason, the prosecution says they don’t have a copy of your material, you have a record of who you gave it to and when.

 

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE HEARING OF YOUR WORK LICENCE APPLICATION?

 

The hearing of your Work Licence application is part of the sentencing process for your drink or driving charge.

1. The prosecutor will call your matter on. They will say something to the Magistrate like “Would Your Honour take the matter of…..”.

2. You must stand to the left of the bar table when you hear your name called out. You will see the prosecutor standing to the right-hand side of it.

3. The Magistrate will likely ask you your name and what you want to do with the charge.

4. You can tell the Magistrate you are pleading guilty to the charge and applying for a Work Licence.

5. The Magistrate will likely confirm they have your application and affidavit material on the court file.

6. The prosecutor will read out the facts for the offence. The facts the prosecutor reads to the Magistrate will generally come straight from the QP9 Court Brief, a copy you should already have. The prosecutor will tender (give to the Magistrate) a copy of any criminal history and traffic history you have and a copy of the Breath Analysis Certificate (proving your alcohol reading) or Drug Analyst Certificate (confirming the drug/s in your saliva).

7. You then will need to make submissions about the offence and your application for the Work Licence.

8. The Magistrate will then decide the penalty and driver licence disqualification to give you. If the Magistrate agrees to grant you a Work Licence, they will determine the conditions to impose.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COURT MAKES AN ORDER FOR A WORK LICENCE?

 

Suppose the Court makes an Order for you to be issued a work licence. You must take the Order to the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads will issue you the work licence (restricted licence).

The work licence will permit you to drive according to the specified circumstances in the Order. For example, the Order will specify such things as:

• What type of vehicle/s you can drive.
• The hours (time of day or night) you can drive.
• The days of the week you can drive.
• If you need to wear a work uniform while driving.
• If you need to keep a log book when driving.
• If you can transport passengers.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE CONDITIONS OF THE WORK LICENCE?

 

If you do not comply with all conditions of your Work Licence:

• You can be fined a maximum of 20 penalty units for breaching the licence.

 

• If your Work Licence is current, it is cancelled.

 

• You will be disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence for:

 

• Three months after the disqualification period in respect of the Work Licence has ended (for example, if you are sentenced for breaching the restricted licence, and you had three months left, you would then have an additional three months added to the disqualification period (meaning a total of 6 months without a driver licence); or,

 

• Suppose you are convicted of breaching a condition of the Work Licence after the licence has expired. In that case, you will be disqualified for three months from the breach’s conviction date.

 

 

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE WORK LICENCE?

 

Once your driver licence disqualification period has ended, you must go to the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads to reissue your driver licence without the restricted licence condition. You will be issued a probationary licence for 12 months. This means you must have a zero blood alcohol concentration when driving on this licence.

 

7 REASONS TO CHOOSE US TO HELP YOU APPLY FOR A WORK LICENCE

 

You only get one chance to apply for your Work Licence to the Court. You want the best possible result, so you get the Work Licence with the necessary conditions.

1. We have a 100% track record in successful Work Licence applications.
2. We offer a fixed fee, an all-inclusive fee for your application, with no hidden extras.
3. We will only take you on as a client if we believe we can get you a Work Licence. We don’t take money from people, giving them a false hope of getting something if we don’t think we can deliver.
4. Our lawyers know what to include in affidavits, so they address everything the Court needs to know.
5. We know what submissions to make to the Court to achieve the lowest penalty and driver licence disqualification.
6. We save you time and stress.
7. Because you are legally represented, you will get priority in Court. You will not have to sit around all day waiting for your application to be heard. The prosecution gives preference to persons who have lawyers.

 

QUEENSLAND MAGISTRATES COURTS WE CAN HELP YOU AT

 

Hervey Bay Magistrates Court

Holland Park Magistrates Court

Ipswich Magistrates Court

Kingaroy Magistrates Court

Maroochydore Magistrates Court

Maryborough Magistrates Court

Monto Magistrates Court

Nambour Magistrates Court

Nanango Magistrates Court

Noosa Magistrates Court

Petrie Magistrates Court

Pine Rivers Magistrates Court

Redcliffe Magistrates Court

Southport Magistrates Court

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court

Toowoomba Magistrates Court

Wynnum Magistrates Court