Drink driving in Tasmania: check the notice, penalty and licence options

Check the charge, licence and vehicle before using a penalty table

The Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 distinguishes a reading-based offence from driving under the influence. Section 6 concerns alcohol concentration; section 4 concerns being under the influence of liquor or a drug to the point of being incapable of proper control. They are not interchangeable labels, particularly when assessing a restricted licence.

The general prescribed concentration is 0.05 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or per 210 litres of breath. Section 6(1) uses “greater than” the prescribed amount, while the sentencing table has a band beginning at 0.05. A sentencing band does not itself establish every element of an offence. Do not use a limit or a number of drinks as a safe drinking target.

Zero-alcohol rules apply to learner and provisional drivers and specified other drivers or circumstances. Prescribed vehicles include vehicles used for a passenger transport service, vehicles designed for 13 or more adult persons including the driver, specified non-passenger vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, and vehicles carrying dangerous goods. Check the statutory definition and your actual use of the vehicle; there is no general 0.02 professional-driver limit in this guide.

Bring the exact statutory section, alleged reading and units, test time, licence type, vehicle details and previous orders. Drug-driving offences, driving while disqualified and other accompanying charges require separate assessment. The adult penalty tables below are not a complete youth-sentencing guide.

Four different documents, four different decisions

The alcohol legislation, Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 and Justices Act 1959 use different triggers. Do not calculate every deadline from the offence date or assume that disputing a fine suspends a licence consequence.

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If time may have expired, obtain advice promptly about the exact notice and available application. A withdrawal refusal has a specific statutory extension rule; the late deemed-conviction remedy has separate conditions. Neither creates a general right to appeal any late notice.

Current court penalties: first and subsequent offences

The following are the section 17 reading-based sentencing bands. Department of Justice indexed amounts set one penalty unit at $213 from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Dollar figures below use that value; an earlier offence requires the applicable law and value to be checked. These are statutory ranges and maxima, not typical outcomes or fixed quotes.

The court can impose a fine or imprisonment or both, together with disqualification. Section 17 allows a lower minimum fine or disqualification where the court is satisfied that special circumstances exist. That exception is not a promise of leniency. Additional charges, court costs and other consequences need separate assessment.

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Relevant prior convictions determine whether the offence is subsequent under the Act; do not assume a five-year clean slate for sentencing. Same-occasion offences have a specific rule. DUI and listed testing offences have their own section 17 provisions and are not simply assigned a guessed reading. The separate infringement route under section 18A and regulation 18/Schedule 2 permits specified section 6(1) offences below 0.10 to carry 2 units ($426) and three months, and 0.10 to below 0.15 to carry 4 units ($852) and six months. It is discretionary, with vehicle and conviction-history exclusions; not every first or zero-limit offence qualifies.

Keep the testing evidence and identify the particular allegation

A preliminary breath test, evidential breath analysis, blood sample and medical examination are different steps. The Act gives police specified powers and creates separate failure, refusal and objection offences. Do not assume every test objection has the same elements, penalty or licence effect.

Record the sequence while you can: driving or accident time, stop and testing times, the documents given, any request or explanation, relevant medical issues and witnesses. Preserve records without altering them. A lawyer can assess the particular testing power, time requirement, medical issue and evidence; a suspected irregularity is not automatically a defence.

Avoid posting detailed admissions or sensitive medical records publicly. Provide material to the lawyer through an agreed channel. If you are still subject to an immediate notice or order, do not drive while waiting for the evidence to be assessed.

A work or family need does not automatically create a restricted-licence right

Immediate police action and the court’s final disqualification are distinct. Section 18B covers specified DUI, reading, subsequent-offence and testing circumstances. Its period can end at the earlier statutory event, including determination of the charge or expiry of the specified minimum period; it is not invariably “until court”. Existing disqualifications and the status of a restricted licence can affect how the notice operates. Read the notice with the actual licence record.

For court disqualification, section 17 of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 generally distinguishes suspension for four months or less from cancellation for more than four months. Alcohol legislation excludes a usual discretion to suspend instead of cancel. The rule postponing commencement for at least ten days when the defendant is absent is not a general ten-day grace period for someone present in court. Arrange transport and check the order.

Restricted licences are governed by Vehicle and Traffic Act section 18 together with the alcohol-specific restrictions in section 19. An operative road safety disqualification notice is itself a relevant exclusion. Alcohol-related bars include a reading of 0.15 or more, DUI, listed testing/refusal offences, learner or provisional status at the offence, prescribed vehicles and specified disqualification history. The authorisation-to-drive restriction has a narrow administrative-lapse exception; a low reading alone does not establish eligibility.

If legally eligible, you must establish severe and unusual hardship to you or dependants, that the licence would alleviate it, and consistency with the public interest. The Magistrates Court application guide asks for evidence of alternative transport, work or caring needs and driving history. Loss of employment alone may not be enough. Use the current verified application and supporting evidence, and give a copy of the application to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and the officer in charge of the Police Prosecutions Branch nearest the court at least seven days before the hearing.

A restricted licence can carry conditions on routes, purposes, hours and records. Under section 19(1B), the court may increase the remaining disqualification by up to the remaining period. Alcohol-dependence evidence is a separate issue. An order is not the issued licence: confirm the required licence has been issued and its conditions before driving. Do not assume a booking, filing, hardship claim or employer letter authorises driving.

Interlock is a licensing programme with its own completion rules

The Mandatory Alcohol Interlock Program (MAIP) operates through the Registrar under the driver licensing regulations. Regulation 29 has separate replacement-after-cancellation and restricted-licence branches. Listed high readings, DUI, particular test failures and relevant repeated offences can matter, with a learner-only exception in one branch. Check the exact offence and licence history; the programme’s five-year history rule is not the sentencing definition of a subsequent offence.

An interlock does not shorten a court disqualification. Participants must observe the zero-alcohol licence condition, drive only as permitted and meet installation, testing, servicing and other requirements. The normal completion route includes at least 450 days of use data and the specified compliance requirements, including the final 180-day period. Violations, excluded periods and restarts can delay completion. The Registrar must revoke the condition; removing the device alone does not do so.

There are qualified medical, island, work-related and severe-hardship exemption provisions. They are not automatic or a general permission to ignore the condition, and different completion requirements can apply. Obtain the Registrar’s decision and conditions rather than assuming that cost or living location creates an exemption.

The Service Tasmania fee table, updated 1 July 2026, Treasury fee-unit information and licensing schedule support the selected charges below. The listed concession category and your eligibility need checking. Regulation 64 requires the provider to give a free cost report before installation; ask for installation, rental, servicing, missed-appointment, transfer and removal costs.

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Check the Registrar’s written notice, current forms and service-centre requirements. Do not book installation or assume a programme exit date solely from a general penalty table.

Prepare for the actual hearing, plea and order

Drink-driving offence proceedings are before a magistrate. The court’s accused-person guide explains the complaint, plea and hearing stages; Tasmania Legal Aid’s court guide helps with preparation. Use the venue and date on your papers. Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie are registry locations, but other sitting locations exist.

Seek advice on the charge, evidence, available plea, relevant history, licence effect and sentencing material. A guilty plea may be sentenced that day or adjourned; a contested matter involves further process. There is no reliable universal number of weeks to completion. Bring accurate financial, medical, rehabilitation, work and caring evidence where relevant; a reference should not promise a result.

If you are unrepresented at a first appearance, ask about the qualified statutory adjournment entitlement to obtain advice and decide a plea. Follow the court’s process; a phone request alone is not a granted adjournment. If attendance is difficult, contact the registry promptly and obtain advice. A warrant may issue in applicable circumstances, but absence does not produce one automatic outcome in every case.

The Sentencing Act 1997 contains non-conviction powers subject to the applicable law. They do not automatically remove mandatory licence consequences. There is no current Justices Act section 7 dismissal shortcut. A first offence does not guarantee no imprisonment, no recorded conviction or protection of employment.

After court, get the written order, reasons or advice on obtaining them, payment requirements and licence records. Check whether a notice to review and a separate stay application are appropriate. The ordinary 21-day review requirement is not the same as the immediate-notice appeal process, and neither should be treated as an automatic suspension of disqualification.

Eight groups of documents for a useful advice appointment

Use this checklist to prepare the facts needed to assess the charge, deadline and licence option. Keep originals and clear complete copies. Do not wait to collect every document if a deadline or hearing is close.

1. Every infringement, road safety disqualification notice, charge, summons, bail paper, hearing notice and court order, with all pages.
2. Envelopes, emails and delivery records showing service dates, plus the next hearing and any stated commencement or expiry date.
3. The alleged reading and units, test records supplied, exact charge section and a chronology of driving, stopping, testing and conversations.
4. Your licence type, status and conditions at the offence; the vehicle’s class, use, seating capacity and weight where relevant.
5. Previous convictions, infringements, disqualifications and interlock history, including the actual dates and orders rather than memory alone.
6. Work, caring, medical and financial evidence relevant to your circumstances, plus realistic alternative transport details if hardship is in issue.
7. Any existing MAIP notice, provider cost report, installation/service records, programme data, exemption decision or licence-condition correspondence.
8. Your questions and priorities, the immediate date that needs action, and the scope and cost of any work already agreed with a lawyer.

The free hotline uses AI and may create and retain transcripts and enquiry summaries under the privacy policy. Avoid unnecessary sensitive details during initial intake. Ask the accepting lawyer how to provide detailed allegations, medical information and documents securely. The hotline alone does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

Official help and free legal information

These services have different roles. Confirm eligibility, scope and availability; a registry cannot assess your defence or guarantee representation.

Tasmania drink-driving questions

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