Get Your Licence Back!

Disqualified Drivers: Removal of Disqualification

Have you been disqualified from driving for a lengthy period? Radical changes to the law have finally been made in NSW to enable disqualified drivers to get their licences back!

Until 28 October 2017, many tens of thousands of NSW drivers, mostly young men, have had to contend with not being able to drive for many, many years. Courts were required to impose lengthy, and often mandatory, periods of disqualification for a range of offences, and those periods of disqualification were cumulative.

The temptation to continue driving was too much for many disqualified drivers, so further periods of disqualification and eventual prison time was the only option for the Courts.

And all of this meant that for many disqualified drivers the prospect of getting work was vastly reduced, and the impact on people’s lives can be enormous.

The law has now changed.

Underlying the changes is a recognition that lengthy periods of disqualification do not deter unauthorised driving. The reverse, in fact. Evidence appears to indicate that they may actually encourage people to drive unlawfully.

These changes will enable Courts to have a greater discretion when imposing penalties; and periods of disqualification will now usually date from the date of your conviction (so will run concurrently with any current period of disqualification).

Additional periods of disqualification imposed by the Roads & Maritime Services Department (RMS), resulting from what was known as the Habitual Offenders Declaration have been abolished.

The new legislation (the Road Transport Amendment (Driver Licence Disqualification) Act 2017) also initiates a scheme for people who are already disqualified for lengthy periods, to apply to the Court for an Order that will enable them to get their Driver’s Licence back (i.e. end the disqualification).

Driver Disqualification Removal – Do You Qualify?

If you have not committed any driving offences for a period of 2 years, you may be eligible. There are certain offences for which a 2 year offence-free period will enable a person to apply to the Local for removal of their disqualification. Other offences require a 4 year offence-free period. There are also a few offence types for which it will not be possible to have disqualifications removed. But the majority of people enduring lengthy periods of disqualification because they committed a string of offences when their life wasn’t going well, or when they were too young to fully appreciate the consequences, will be able to have their disqualification periods removed after the 2 or 4 year period.

Call us for advice on whether you qualify for making application to the Court for removal of your disqualification, and if so, we can assist you through the process and appear for you in Court – call now (02) 9533 2269