Work Licences in Victoria

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Driving for Work Licences in Victoria

Work Driving Licences and Daytime Driving Licences

There has never been any such thing as a "work licence" or "day time licence" in Victoria. They have never existed under any circumstances or for any reason whatsoever. So you can never get one. Everyone who tells you they had one in Victoria is lying. They were actually driving while disqualified but were too shy to tell you the truth.


Conditional licence

There is no such thing as a conditional driver's licence in Victoria. You can never apply for one. You either have a drivers licence or you don't. If you have a driver's licence there is no point in asking a court to place restrictions on it. You should be asking the court not to interfere with it at all.


Bail conditions affecting your right to drive

In some rare cases the court can ask a person who is applying for bail to agree not to drive a motor vehicle at night or on weekends or outside work hours or at all. You might agree to those conditions if you want to be released on bail. An example of this is where someone is taken into custody after using his/her car in a road rage incident where they have driven very dangerously and attacked someone and perhaps have priors for similar offences. The court has no power to suspend the person's drivers licence prior to the hearing of these types of charges, but the court can restrict the accused's use of a vehicle as a condition of granting bail. If you breach those conditions you are not breaching a licence condition and you are not committing a driving offence. But you will be in breach of your bail and you risk being arrested and taken back into custody. Asking the court to impose this type of condition on you presumes you have a licence to start with. If the court is obliged to cancel or suspend your drivers licence then it is a waste of time asking the court to impose a condition on you that you be restricted in how and when you use your licence – seeing you won't have a drivers licence anyway.  Similarly, a person might agree not drive their vehicle in certain circumstances as a condition of a bond or undertaking to be of good behaviour.


Discretionary licence loss

A court always has power to suspend or cancel your drivers licence for as long as it likes if you are found guilty of any offence (s.28 Road Safety Act, s.89A Sentencing Act). If the offence does not have a mandatory licence loss period the court has power to suspend or cancel one category of licence only – such as your heavy vehicle drivers licence or your motor cycle licence –  and still allow you to retain a drivers licence for cars, or vice versa. In discretionary licence loss cases the court does not need to suspend your licence at all or can suspend only one category of licence. See s.28(2) Road Safety Act.


Mandatory Licence loss

If you are found guilty of any of the following offences the court must cancel or suspend your drivers licence for a period that is not less than the minimum period set by legislation.

Drink driving.
Drug driving.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Excessive Speed (more than 25kmh over the speed limit, or more than 130kmh).
Dangerous Speed.
Culpable driving.
Dangerous driving.
Refusing to identify driver.*
Some assaults and other crimes involving the use of a motor vehicle.

* if convicted.


Conditions on your drivers licence

VicRoads can impose conditions on your drivers licence, such as a condition that you must wear glasses or have a zero blood alchol condition or drive only automatic vehicles. Neither VicRoads nor the Courts nor the Police have any power to place a restriction on your licence that controls where and when you can drive your motor vehicle.


Demerit Points Suspensions

It is impossible to plead or beg your way out of a demerit points licence suspension. If the points are recorded lawfully the courts have no discretion about whether or not your licence gets suspended or for how long. How badly you need a licence is always irrelevant. You should seek legal advice if you want to avoid a demerit points suspension. See the Demerit Points page.


Drink driving charges

If you are facing mandatory licence cancellation for drink driving, the courts have no power to let you drive a motor vehicle for any purpose whatsoever during your term of licence cancellation. 

If you have been served with a s.51 Notice of Immediate licence suspension, it is possible to appeal against that suspension and for the court to take into account your exceptional circumstances to let you have your licence back pending the hearing of your charges.

Some people can plead guilty to drink driving and still keep their driver's licence. See the Drink Driving page which sets out the criteria when that can apply.  


Speeding charges

If you are facing mandatory licence suspension for a speeding offence, the courts have no power to let you drive a motor vehicle for any purpose whatsoever during the period of licence suspension. See the Speeding page.


Barely a day goes by without someone asking me if they can get a work licence. If you still want me to apply to a Magistrate for a conditional licence so you can drive only for work purposes I will be happy to do so. The cost is $4,000.00, which is about the same as the cost of engaging a barrister to get you acquitted of traffic charges.



 

Related Pages:
Speeding
Demerit Points
Mandatory Sentencing

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