Driving whilst disqualified

Driving whilst disqualified is an offence pursuant to section 54 (1) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).

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Those who drive a motor vehicle on a road or road-related area whilst their licence is disqualified; and

Those who make an application for a driver’s licence whilst their licence is disqualified and state their name falsely or fail to mention that their licence is disqualified.

Driving whilst cancelled

Driving whilst cancelled is an offence pursuant to section 54 (4) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). If, however, your licence was cancelled due to non-payment of fines you’ll be charged pursuant to section 54 (5) (b) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).

Categories

Those who drive a motor vehicle on a road or road-related area whilst their licence is cancelled; and

Those who make an application for a driver’s licence whilst their licence is cancelled and state their name falsely or fail to mention that their licence is cancelled.

Driving whilst suspended

Driving whilst suspended is an offence pursuant to section 54 (3) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). If, however, your licence was suspended due to non-payment of fines, you will be charged under section 54 (5) (a) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).

Categories

Those who drive a motor vehicle on a road or road-related area whilst their licence is suspended; and

Those who make an application for a driver’s licence whilst their licence is suspended and state their name falsely or fail to mention that their licence is suspended.

Driving whilst never licensed

The offence pursuant to section 53 (3) Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) provides that a person has never been licensed in connection with an offence if the person has not held a driver licence of any kind in Australia for the period of at least five years immediately before the commission of the offence.

If an accused drove with a suspended or cancelled licence under the Fines Act 1996 (NSW), the potential periods of disqualification are different for the first offence. Rather a twelve-month minimum disqualification period, the minimum disqualification will be three months.

The following options are available to the accused depending on his/her instructions: –

1. We’ll negotiate with the Prosecutor to have the charges withdrawn, downgraded and/or the Police Fact Sheets amended; or
2. We’ll enter a plea of not guilty and proceed to a hearing; or
3. We’ll enter a plea of guilty to the charges and proceed to dispute the Police Fact Sheets at a special “disputed facts” hearing; or
4. We’ll enter a plea of guilty with full acceptance of the Police Fact Sheets; and
5. We’ll submit thoroughly researched legal submissions requesting that the Court not record a criminal conviction.