Drink Driving Penalties VIC

In Victoria, the first drink driving offense is dealt with by the police by issuing a traffic infringement notice. The drink driver may pay the fine indicated or if they contest the arrest and apprehension, they can appear in court. However, if they are found guilty by the magistrate’s court, the penalties are stiffer.

The usual penalties for drink driving offenses are a fine, demerit points against the driver’s license, suspension or cancellation of the license and disqualification from driving for a period to be determined by the court.

License holders who are subject to the 0.0% blood alcohol limit will be penalized with 2.5 penalty units and ten demerit points if their BAC is less than 0.5%. Each penalty unit is $140.84. If their BAC is 0.05-0.07%, then they will be fined with 3 penalty units and a cancellation of the license and disqualification for 6 months. A holder of a full license whose BAC is higher than 0.05-0.07%, they will be fined with 3 penalty points and 10 demerit points. For the first offense, they will be issued a traffic infringement notice but for subsequent offences, they will need to appear in court.

All drivers regardless of their type of license will be fined between 3-4 penalty units and a cancellation of the license and disqualification between 6- 14 months. All drivers regardless of the type of license they hold will be charged with an indictable offense and appear in court. The penalty will be in the discretion of the court.

The table below outlines the specific DUI penalties in VIC for the levels of BAC.