Drink/Drug Driving Laws

Drink and drug driving are offences under the Road Safety Act 1986. Depending on the type of licence you have, there are different amounts of alcohol you can have in your body. If you have a full licence you must have less than .05 in your system. If you are a P-Plater or if you are driving a heavy vehicle you must not have any alcohol in your system at all.

There is no amount of drugs that you are permitted to have in your system, unless it has been prescribed by a doctor and it is being used in accordance with the prescription.

We answer some of the most common questions below. Of course, if your question is not listed or you want some more information, please do not hesitate to call us on 1800 351 114 for some free advice.

Can I go to Jail?

It is very rare to go to jail for drink driving. If it is your first offence, you cannot go to jail. If you have already been caught for drink driving, you could receive a jail sentence although most people do not. 

The more times you have been charged (three, four, five…) the more likely it is that you will get a jail sentence. In our experience if your case is properly prepared and there are no other aggravating circumstances (such as an accident or erratic driving) you give yourself the best chance of avoiding a jail term.

In some cases, you can go to jail for drug driving, although this is uncommon.

We will manage your case and get you the counselling and assistance the Court would be expecting. We can arrange alcohol counselling, driver awareness courses, character references and medical reports. We will arrange these things for you if we think you need them. It depends on who you are, your history with alcohol and how you were caught (routine booze bus detection, call to police because of erratic driving or an accident).

Do I have to lose my licence?

Yes. The law changed in April 2018 to make it mandatory for a loss of licence in all drink driving cases where you exceed 0.05.

It is also mandatory for drug driving offences.

How long will I lose my licence for?

A reading between 0.05 and 0.069 will result in a 3 month loss of licence. Any reading between 0.07 and 0.099 will result in a licence loss for a minimum period of six months. For readings of .10 you get 10 months, for .11 you get eleven months, .12 you get 12 months and so on up to 24 months. For a second or subsequent offence those minimum periods double.

For drug driving, it is a 6 month suspension for a first offence, and 12 months for a second offence.

It is important to note that these are minimum periods only - the Court can impose any period of cancellation it likes. It often does this where you have received other driving charges at the same time, were involved in an accident or have a poor driving history.

Ken - Google Review - 5 Star Review

“Luke Simpson is knowledgeable, understanding and truly cares about his clients. If you're looking for a barrister who specialises in drink-driving and licence suspensions, then look no further than Luke from William Archer Defence Lawyers.”

Sonja W - Google Review - 5 Star Review

“Positive: Professionalism, Quality, Responsiveness, Value

“I called William Archer today with a question for legal advice related to a driving offence and left my contact details. As recommended I called the barrister Luke directly later this evening and left a message which resulted in him calling me back within the hour. I received very encouraging and specific answers to my questions and a friendly and professional service. Feel about 100 times better than I did this afternoon and will contact Williams Archer again should I need a lawyer in the future (fingers crossed this won’t be the case though). Thanks again and I would definitely recommend.”

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