Author Archives: Paul

The Victorian government has passed new tougher drink driving laws which will apply to all persons caught drink driving in Victoria from the 30th April 2018. Previously, if you were 26 years of age or older and not a 00 licence holder then if you blew between .050% and .069% and had no prior drink driving offences in the past 10 years you did not lose your licence.  Instead you would have previously received a traffic infringement notice with 10 demerit points and a small fine. The new laws mean you will now have your licence cancelled and disqualified for a minimum of 6 months and pay a fine. This is mandatory and compulsory with no exceptions for a work licence.

Now all persons with a Z condition ( 00% ) caught drink driving with readings between .00 and .049% will face a mandatory 3 month cancellation and disqualification of their licence.

Further changes mean everyone caught drink driving will now have to complete an expensive 12 hour Drink Driver Behaviour Change Program before they can be re-licenced. The old 2 hour drink driving education course which only applied if you blew .07% or higher has been abolished by the government. The government clearly has identified that a change in driver behaviour is an effective way to reduce the number of drink drivers on our roads. The only problem with such a blanket approach which casts the net so widely is you could be 80 years old and have held a licence for 62 years with no driving priors at all and make one simple error by having one mouthfull too many of alcohol and blow.050% instead of .049% and you will be forced to undergo an expensive 12 hour driver behavour change program. But the government would argue that is the price the community has to pay in order to reduce the road toll.

Further changes mean all persons caught drink driving after the 30th April 2018 will be required to have the alcohol interlock device installed for at least 6 months. Again this is expensive to install and lease and then have removed from your car. Indeed, it is now a very expensive exercise to breach the new tougher drink driving laws. If you are caught drink driving and need legal advice please call me on 0412 407577 to arrange an appointment.

Drug Driving Charges are a criminal conviction and can affect your future in many ways. I see many drivers every week charged with Drug Driving who tell me they have not consumed any drugs for many weeks prior to being charged by police. This is because drugs can stay in your system for many weeks after you last took them. Alcohol is different. Your liver removes the alcohol out of your system very quickly. But drugs such as cannabis, methyl amphetamine and MDMA(ecxtasy) can take many weeks to completely be removed from your system. This is why even though you are clearly not under the influence or affected by a drug your police test will show the presence of a drug. The legislation makes it an offence to drive with any level of drug in your system no matter how small the amount. The police do not have to prove you were affected by the drug while driving or your ability to drive was impaired in any way.

First drug driving offence has a 3 month compulsory minimum licence disqualification and subsequent offences in 10 years have a six month compulsory minimum period. The fine is not large. You may think it is just easier to pay the fine but be warned it is recorded on your record forever as a drug driving conviction. It will affect many things. Just some examples are working with children checks, professional body registrations, visa applications, work visas, firearm licences, security licences, government positions and employment applications.

I specialise in drug driving charges and will seek at court to obtain a non conviction penalty for you so you can pursue your career and future plans. All is not lost. You simply made a bad decision to drive not knowing a drug was still in your system. I do not judge you. We all are capable of making mistakes. I will help you through this difficult period. Call 0412 407 577  to arrange a conference.

A Drink Driving, Drug Driving or Driving Suspended conviction is a criminal conviction. I dont want this to happen to you. I will represent you at court to avoid a criminal conviction. There are alternative penalties like a good behaviour bond that avoid a conviction. But it may not be easy. A careful well prepared presentation is needed for the court hearing. I specialise in avoiding conviction for my clients. I have saved hundreds of clients just like you from receiving a conviction. Call Me now on tel://041-240-7577 to start preparing for court.

It is a common misconception that a traffic conviction is somehow not a criminal conviction. But  legally it is a criminal conviction. You are charged by Victoria Police. A charge is filed in the criminal division of the court. You are issued with a summons or bailed to attend court. You are prosecuted by a prosecutor from the Victoria Police. You are in the same court room as persons charged with theft, assault and drug trafficking. You can be punished by jail. It is definately a criminal conviction that will have you labelled as a criminal for the rest of your life. Do everything to avoid it!

What are the consequences of a criminal conviction? Your employer may sack you. In future you may have difficulty finding new employment as most employers perform a criminal history check on applicants. If you are a professional or require annual registration for employment then you may fail the character or suitabilty tests. You will probably fail  working with children checks. If you hold a firearm, security or other licence it may be cancelled or not renewable. If you are here on a student, bridging or temporary visa then you may have your visa cancelled or not renewed. Any application for permanent residency or Australian citizenship may be rejected.  Applications to rent will probably be rejected.

Please Call Me now on 0412 407 577 to arrange an appointment to start preparing your case to avoid a conviction.

Have you been caught driving suspended or driving disqualified? Thousands of drivers are caught every year driving on Victorian roads without a licence. Most drivers have been suspended due to excessive demerit points, court suspension or a speeding ticket. You will have to go to court. There is no on the spot ticket for driving suspended or disqualified.  At court the Magistrate will decide your penalty. First offenders face a $3000 fine or imprisonment for 4 months. Second offenders face a fine of $24,000 or imprisonment of 2 years. The jails are full of suspended and disqualified drivers. Mums and Dads. Sons and daughters. Professionals. Tradies. Foreign students. The law makes no exceptions. You can expect little sympathy from the Magistrate. They regard driving suspended or driving disqualified as a serious offence because you have been told not to drive and you have blatently ignored all warnings not to drive. Many Magistrates believe you have been driving suspended all the time until you were caught by police and will further suspend your licence. Anywhere from 1 month to 12 months extra suspension. My aim for all my clients is firstly to avoid jail. Secondly, I aim to avoid licence suspension. How? My 36 years experience as a lawyer means I present your case in the best possible way. I explain to the Magistrate what caused you to make this error and offer alternative penalties to jail and explain why a further licence suspension is going to be difficult for you. It is vital you call me as soon as you are caught driving suspended or disqualified as your case needs time to be prepared properly. If you have already received the summons call me immediately and I will quickly arrange a conference time to see you. For an appointment call  0412 407 577

One of the best Driving Suspended Lawyers servicing in Melbourne, Moorabbin & Ringwood.