Articles

Can I get a work or restricted licence in NSW?

Restricted work licences are available in some states of Australia. If you lose your licence you can apply to the court for a work licence or restricted licence. This is commonly referred to as an extraordinary licence, or a hardship licence. These schemes have been operating in Queensland and Western Australia for a number of years.

Unfortunately, there is no such provision in New South Wales. Work licences or restricted licences do not exist in NSW. There is no application you can make to drive for work purposes, for a limited distance, or at specified times. Put simply, if you lose your licence in NSW you cannot drive at all.

What if I’ve been suspended by the RMS or Police?

If you’ve received a notice of suspension from either the RMS or Police you may be able to lodge an appeal. Depending on your circumstances sometimes the lodging of an appeal puts a stay or hold on the suspension. That means you may be able to drive until the appeal is heard. The court may allow the appeal so that you can drive or vary the length of the suspension so you can get back on the road sooner. Either way, at all times you are either permitted to drive or not. The court cannot give you a work licence or restricted purpose licence.

What if I’ve been disqualified from driving by a court?

If you’ve been disqualified by a court you may able to appeal the severity of your sentence to the District Court. To appeal your sentence, you need to lodge your application within three months.

Unfortunately, if you’re outside of the three months, you’re stuck. 

You’ve been disqualified for a long time

If you have consecutive periods of disqualification or habitual offender declarations you may be able to make an application to the local court to remove the rest of the disqualification period. There are certain criteria you must meet to be successful in making this application, such as meeting the relevant offence free period. 

You might have errors on your traffic record

The only other option if you have been disqualified and would like to try and get back on the road faster is to get a traffic law expert to look for errors on your traffic record. The typical type of candidate for this kind of solution is someone who has been disqualified multiple times over a number of years by the court. Errors can occur when the RMS input the results of those court dates. Disqualifications may be recorded consecutively (one after the other) rather than concurrently (all at the same time). 

If you think you may be in one of these categories, you should speak with a criminal and traffic lawyer as soon as possible, as time is often of the essence!