Special Hardship Work Licences

A special hardship work licence arises from 2 situations:

• You have accumulated demerit points while on a 12-month good driving behaviour period or/and
• You were fined for driving 40 km/h over the speed limit.

Although most of the process to apply for a special hardship work licence is similar to applying for a work licence due to drink driving or drug driving, the initial steps here are different.

We strongly recommend that you obtain advice regarding the initial steps. What you do at this early stage will determine whether you can apply for a work licence.

You will receive an Infringement Notice from Queensland Transport regarding the offence. It is important that you decide on the options available to you in the Infringement Notice and act within the timeframe provided. We recommend delivering the infringement notice to Queensland Transport and confirming your contact details with Queensland Transport are current.

The following steps are required for a special hardship order (work licence):

• Payment of the Infringement Notice (if applicable)
• Upon the Infringement Notice being paid, Queensland Transport will forward to you a letter advising you of your suspension date and the period of suspension
• We recommend that upon payment of the Infringement Notice you either start the court documents or engage us (or a solicitor of your choice) to start preparing the required court documents. The reason for this is that, by preparing the court documents in advance and having the documents ready by the suspension date, we will be able to file the documents in the morning of the suspension date. This means that you will be suspended for just a few hours and will not be without your licence for a prolonged period of time.

We recommend that you obtain a copy of your full traffic history. This is to ensure that there are no disqualifying factors recorded in your traffic history that would prevent you from applying for a work licence.

Your traffic history will also be used to prepare your court documents and court representation.

An application for a work licence involves the preparation of the following court documents:

• Court form – Special Hardship Order Application
• Affidavit of yourself
• Affidavit of your employer (unless you are self-employed).

In addition to the above essential documents it is recommended that you also take the following steps:

• Complete a traffic offender course before your court date
• Obtain at least 2 character references to present to the court.

The character references must contain the following information:

• That the referee is aware that you are going to court and that you have been charged with the offence
• How long they have known you for
• That you are remorseful of your conduct
• General details about your good nature
• The character reference must be dated and signed.

Not all traffic offences require a solicitor for court representation.

If you choose to represent yourself, you should at the very least:

• Consider completing a traffic offender course
• Obtain 2 character references for court
• Consult the Legal Aid website on traffic offences.

However, there are situations where knowledge of the traffic law and the court process could mean the difference between having a driver’s licence and not.

There are some situations which will disqualify you from being able to apply for a work licence.

You are not eligible to apply if, within the last 5 years before making the application:

• Your Queensland driver licence has been suspended or cancelled or you have been disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence. This is subject to a few exceptions
• Your authority to drive on Queensland roads under a non-Queensland driver licence has been suspended
• You were made ineligible to apply for a Queensland driver licence because you exceeded your demerit point threshold, or were convicted of driving more than 40km/h over the speed limit when not the holder of a driver licence; or
• You have been convicted of dangerous driving.

In order to be successful in applying for a special hardship work licence you must prove to the court that:

1. You are a fit and proper person to continue to drive, having regard to your traffic history and the safety of other road users and the public generally
2. Refusal to grant you a special hardship order would cause:
   (a) Extreme financial hardship to you or your family by depriving you of your means of earning a living; or
   (b) Severe and unusual hardship to you or your family, other than by depriving you of your means of earning a living.

When charged with a traffic offence, it is important to obtain legal representation as soon as possible to find out your rights and obligations. In order to exercise your rights you must meet the strict requirements of the law and must do so within a specified timeframe.

There are situations where you may be able to make written submissions to the prosecutor to consider reducing or withdrawing the charge against you. This must however be done in a timely manner.

Freeman Lawyers will guide you through each step of applying for a work licence or entering a plea to a drink or drug driving charge.

We will clearly advise you of the options available to you so that you can make an informed decision. We are proactive in our approach and will take all steps necessary to obtain the best possible outcome for you.

An initial consultation in person with one of our solicitors at our Woolloongabba office or Beenleigh office is fixed at $165. During your consultation you will find out:

• Your rights
• The range of outcomes
• Steps you can take to move your matter forward in a positive way.

Find out what you can do today.