Drink Driving Offences
Being charged with a drink driving offence can be stressful. For many people, it is their first taste of the criminal justice system and they have no idea of what is likely to occur at court. This section of the site contains articles written by traffic lawyers about all the different types of drink driving offences. It has been designed to inform people charged with a Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (PCA) offence or a Driving under the influence (DUI) offence of what penalties are likely to be imposed by the court.
The below table sets out the penalties that apply to drink driving offences in NSW.
| Offences | Penalty | Automatic disqualification (where no alcohol interlock order is imposed) | Minimum disqualification (where no alcohol interlock order is imposed) | Minimum disqualification period (where alcohol interlock order is imposed) | Maximum disqualification period (where alcohol interlock order is imposed) | Alcohol interlock period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Range (1st) | $3300 fine or 18 months jail | 3 years | 12 months | 6 months | 9 months | 24 months |
| High Range (2nd) | $5500 fine or 2 years jail | 5 years | 2 years | 9 months | 12 months | 48 months |
| Mid-Range (1st) | $2200 fine or 9 months jail | 12 months | 6 months | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months |
| Mid-Range (2nd) | $3300 fine or 12 months jail | 3 years | 12 months | 6 months | 9 months | 24 months |
| Low/special/ novice range (1st) | $2200 fine | 6 months | 3 months | - | - | - |
| Low/special/ novice range (2nd) | $3300 fine | 12 months | 6 months | 1 month | 3 months | 12 months |
| DUI Alcohol (1st) | $3300 fine 18 months | 3 years | 12 months | 6 months | 9 months | 24 months |
| DUI Alcohol (2nd) | $5500 fine or 2 years jail | 5 years | 2 years | 9 months | 12 months | 48 months |
| Drug present in system (1st) | $2200 fine | 6 months | 3 months | - | - | - |
| Drug present in system (2nd) | $3300 fine | 12 months | 6 months | - | - | - |
*** Please note a second or subsequent offence means a similar or major offence committed within the last five years ***
For more information see the below articles.
- Novice range drink driving
- Special range drink driving
- Low range drink driving
- Mid-range drink driving
- High range drink driving
- Drink driving crashes
- Guideline judgement for high range PCA
- How to deal with a drink driving charge
- Drink driving definitions
- Interlock after Feb 2015
- Interlock before Feb 2015