When facing the loss of a licence for a drink or drug driving offence, you may be able to apply for a restricted licence (also known as a work licence) if you meet certain criteria. These applications require careful preparation — the requirements are strict, and a successful outcome depends heavily on the quality of the material put before the court.

Work Licence — Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for a work licence under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld), all of the following criteria must be met:

• The charge must be a qualifying offence. Work licences are available for drink driving offences where your blood or breath alcohol reading is under 0.15%. For drug driving charges (driving with a relevant drug present in saliva), there is no concentration threshold — if the drug is detected in your saliva, you may be eligible. However, if you are charged with being under the influence of a drug (rather than merely having it present), you cannot apply.
• You must hold a current Queensland open licence. This is one of the most critical requirements. You must hold a valid, open Queensland driver’s licence at the time of the offence. If your licence was suspended or disqualified at the time you were caught for any reason, including a SPER (State Penalties Enforcement Registry) suspension for unpaid fines, you are not eligible. A suspended licence is not a current open licence .A provisional licence (“P plates”) — whether P1 (red) or P2 (green) — is not an open licence.
• No relevant prior history in the last 5 years. You must not have lost your licence in the preceding 5 years for a similar drink or drug driving offence, or because of an accumulation of demerit points.
• You must genuinely need your licence to earn your livelihood. It is not enough that losing your licence would be inconvenient, or that it would make getting to and from work more difficult. You must be able to demonstrate to the court that you would suffer extreme financial hardship if you were unable to drive — for example, that driving is an essential part of your job, or that there is no reasonable alternative way to perform your work duties.

Who Cannot Apply for a Work Licence

There are several circumstances that will make a person ineligible, regardless of their personal or financial situation:

• Your BAC reading was 0.15% or higher
• Your licence was suspended or disqualified at the time of the offence — including a SPER suspension, demerit point suspension, or court-ordered disqualification
• You have a relevant offence or demerit point loss on your record in the last 5 years
• You were charged with being under the influence of a drug (rather than driving with a relevant drug present)
• You were driving under a SPER-suspended licence — this results in a separate charge of driving without a licence, and this combination typically renders a person ineligible on multiple grounds

A Special Hardship Order operates similarly to a work licence in terms of what it allows you to do — it permits you to drive during certain hours or for certain purposes — but it applies in different circumstances.

When does an SHO apply?

An SHO is available where you are facing the suspension of your licence due to:

• Accumulating too many demerit points; or
• Breaching a good behaviour driving option — that is, where you elected to drive on good behaviour instead of serving a demerit point suspension, and then incurred a further offence.

An SHO is not available following a drink or drug driving conviction — that is the domain of the work licence. If you are being sentenced for a traffic offence in court, you would be looking at a work licence, not an SHO.

Eligibility Criteria for an SHO

To be eligible for a Special Hardship Order under s124B of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld), you must meet all of the following:

• You must hold a current Queensland open licence (not a provisional or learner licence)
• You must have a clean driving record for the last 5 years — meaning no convictions for a relevant offence, no loss of licence for accumulated demerit points, and no previous Special Hardship Orders in that period
• You must demonstrate that the suspension would cause extreme hardship to you or your family — either because you need your licence to perform your job, or because losing it would cause serious hardship in meeting your family’s essential needs (such as transporting a dependent with medical needs)
• The application must be made before the suspension takes effect — timing is critical, and missing the window means losing the right to apply entirely

What Counts as Extreme Hardship?

Courts apply this test strictly. Inconvenience, added travel time, or the cost of rideshares generally will not be sufficient. The kinds of circumstances that may satisfy the test include:

• Your employment requires you to drive (e.g. delivery driver, tradesperson travelling between sites, salesperson covering regional areas)
• You live in a regional or rural area with no access to public transport
• You are the sole carer for a dependent who requires regular medical transport
• Loss of the licence would directly cause you to lose your employment, with significant financial consequences for your household

Whether granted a work licence or a Special Hardship Order, the court will impose conditions on how you may drive. Common conditions include:

• Specified driving hours (e.g. Monday to Friday, 6am–6pm)
• Restrictions on geographic area or purpose (e.g. work-related travel only)
• A requirement to keep a logbook recording each journey, including time, destination, and purpose
• Restrictions on carrying passengers
• Conditions relating to uniform or identification in some employment contexts

Importantly, the disqualification period can be doubled compared to what you would ordinarily receive. For example, if the standard disqualification for your offence is 6 months, you may be placed on a restricted licence for up to 12 months. This is not automatic and will depend on the circumstances and the submissions made on your behalf. You will also receive a fine, the amount of which will depend on your BAC reading and the submissions made on your behalf.

We have a 100% success rate in making these applications to the court, built on extensive experience and meticulous preparation of the supporting material required.

Our initial consultation focuses on gathering detailed information about your personal circumstances, employment, and financial situation. We prepare comprehensive affidavits from you and, where appropriate, from your employer — setting out in clear terms why you need your licence and what the consequences of losing it would be.

Where it strengthens your application, we supplement this material with certificates of completion of road safety programs such as QTOP which demonstrate your insight into the impact of your offending. We also obtain any additional supporting material our assessment of your case identifies as beneficial.

Our experience means we know what courts look for, what questions are likely to be asked, and how to present your case in the most compelling way possible. With George Criminal Lawyers on your side, you can be confident that you have the best possible chance of successfully obtaining a work licence or restricted licence.

The information on this page is general in nature. Eligibility for a work licence or Special Hardship Order depends on the specific facts of your case. Contact us for a consultation to discuss your circumstances.