WA Immediate Licence Suspension

Only in Western Australia can the police issue not only a traffic infringement notice for drink driving offenses but they can also issue disqualification notices to them. The police will do this immediately at the roadside when the motorist registers a breath alcohol concentration that is prescribed. A disqualification notice will effectively render the drink driver’s license suspended for two months even before the drink driver has appeared in court. And this is different from the court-imposed disqualification which may be for a minimum of six months to a thirty months.

The disqualification notice may be appealed along with the infringement notice to the magistrate’s court. When this is appealed, the burden of proving that the disqualification or infringement notice was not proper rests on the drink driver appealing the disqualification notice. When the drink driver is found guilty just the same by the court after he has appealed the disqualification notice, the court penalties of disqualification will always be higher than the immediate disqualification of two months.