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Australian media personality Kate Ritchie has lost her driver’s licence for three months after being fined for low range drink driving.

No court date was given – rather she was handed an infringement along with an immediate licence suspension.

The 44-year-old took to Instagram to apologise following the incident.

Since then, the Australia’s Got Talent judge has lost a partnership with a major skincare company.

Kate Ritchie Drink Driving

Kate Ritchie was caught drink driving on 22 August in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.

The television and radio personality was stopped for a random breath test in a blue Subaru station wagon.

She registered a positive blood alcohol reading which resulted in her arrest. Police transported her to Maroubra Police Station, where she submitted to a breath analysis.

This returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.06. Police subsequently issued her with an infringement in relation to an offence of drive with low range PCA.

Drink driving lawyers in Sydney explain that infringements do not result in a criminal conviction unless the recipient elects to take the matter to Court. There, a Magistrate can choose to record a conviction.   

Ritchie was also given an immediate police suspension for three months. The minimum disqualification for low range drink driving is three months.

The only exception to this is if a person elects the infringement to court and is sentenced to a non-conviction order. This can be a Section 10 dismissal, conditional release order without conviction or a Section 14 mental health order.

It is understood the fine was $600.

Consequences of Drink Driving

Despite not receiving a criminal conviction, Kate Ritchie has already been dealing with repercussions for the drink driving offence. Ritchie was removed as a brand ambassador for QV – a beauty products company.

The 44-year-old shared a post on Instagram where she extended a public apology for her actions. She labelled her offending as a ‘poor decision’.  

However, this was not enough to save her from losing the lucrative sponsorship deal.

Low Range PCA Offences

The offence of drive with low range PCA is driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.05 and 0.079.

Under Section 110(3) the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW), in order for you to be found guilty of ‘Low range drink driving’, the prosecution must prove:

1. You were driving a vehicle;

2. You had a blood alcohol concentration between 0.05 and 0.079.

Police can immediately issue a penalty notice for $561 and a 3-month immediate suspension from driving.

You can elect to appeal the penalty notice to the Local Court if you believe you are ‘not guilty’ or wish to fight the disqualification. There are also additional defences to drink driving set out above.

The maximum penalty for Low Range PCA (first offence) is $2200. The maximum penalty for Low Range Drink Driving (Second or Subsequent offence) is $3300.

For a first offence, the automatic disqualification for Low Range PCA (first offence) is 6 months. The minimum disqualification is 3 months. There is no Mandatory Interlock program.

The automatic disqualification for Low Range Drink Driving (Second or Subsequent offence) is 12 months. The minimum disqualification for Low Range Drink Driving (Second or Subsequent offence) is 6 months.

The mandatory interlock program applies.

The automatic interlock disqualification for Low Range Drink Driving (Second or Subsequent offence) is 3 months. The minimum interlock disqualification for Low Range Drink Driving (Second or Subsequent offence) is 1 month.

While it is impossible to predict the exact low range drink driving penalties you will receive, we can provide a range of likely sentences. Below is a list of sentencing cases in the Local Court from October 2011:

• Section 10 dismissal: 4%
• Section 10 bond (Conditional release order without conviction): 53%
• Fine: 40%

The statistics above set out that low range drink driving offences usually result in a conviction and fine.