Drive While Suspended – No Order Against Licence

This is a case study on driving while suspended at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where one charge was withdrawn, two were dealt with together, and no order was made against the client’s licence.

Following suspension of his licence due to loss of demerit points, our client was suspended from driving for 3 months by VicRoads.

What is alleged to have occured?

The client was then caught driving while suspended on three separate occasions during the period. He was charged with:

• Drive While Suspended By Infringements
• Exceed Speed Limit

What happened at court?

Amelia Ramsay acted on his behalf at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

On the first incident, we successfully negotiated to have the charge withdrawn on the basis of the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact. The client instructed us that he had not received any mail from VicRoads notifying him of the suspension. He was able to obtain a letter signed by residents in his street confirming an ongoing issue of undelivered mail. Further, the client was able to provide receipts following his attendance at VicRoads during the suspension period where he was not notified of the suspension but renewed his expired motorbike licence. That charge relating to the first incident was withdrawn.

When the second charge came before the court, we sought an adjournment knowing that a further Drive While Suspended charge was expected for the third incident. We advised client that it will be better to appear before the court on one occasion with two briefs and have them dealt with together, rather than appear before the court on two separate occasions where a prior would have been recorded and taken into account by the magistrate on the second occasion.

What was the result?

Ultimately, we were able to secure a very positive outcome for a client who, when he came first to our office, was facing 3 possible charges of Drive While Suspended which in many cases will likely result in a term of imprisonment. The magistrate imposed a fine with conviction but no order was made against our client’s licence. He was also given 3 months to pay the fine and was advised by court to contact them if he fails to pay the fine by the due date so a payment plan could be arranged.