QUEENSLAND

NSW Driver on Low Range DUI at Southport Magistrates Court

By Joshua Boorman · Published · QLD posts

In shortBoorman Lawyers appeared at the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday 14 October 2016 for a client who had been charged with a Low Range Drink Driving Offence. Our experienced Southport Court DUI Lawyers were able to achieve a well-prepared outcome for our client.

  • Low Range Drink Driving Offence QLD
  • NSW Licence BUT Charged in QLD Jurisdiction
  • Penalties for Low Range Drink Driving in QLD

Queensland law · law checked 21 Oct 2026

This outcome was achieved in October 2016. Queensland drink driving penalties changed for offences committed on or after 31 August 2026, so the penalties discussed here may not reflect current law.

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NSW Driver on Low Range DUI at Southport Magistrates Court This video was published before 31 August 2026, when Queensland drink driving penalties changed, so the penalties discussed may not reflect current law.

Boorman Lawyers appeared at the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday 14 October 2016 for a client who had been charged with a Low Range Drink Driving Offence. Our experienced Southport Court DUI Lawyers were able to achieve a well-prepared outcome for our client.

DUI Video #TimeStamps

00:13 – Welcome to #BoormanLawyers Southport Court Video Update 00:30 – NSW Licence holder caught DUI on Gold Coast 00:52 – RBT and recorded BAC of 0.087 01:16 – Relies heavily on licence to work 01:31 – Precluded from applying for Work Licence since she held a NSW Licence 02:13 – Obtained evidence from her employer 03:00 – Boorman Lawyers obtained evidence of Public Transit records 03:35 – Assisted in preparing a strong letter of Apology 03:58 – Client completed the Traffic Offenders Program in Sydney 04:30 – Case was packaged together & persuasive verbal submissions were presented 05:30 – Subjective & Personal Issues were discussed before the Court 06:30 – Magistrates agreed that it was unfortunate client couldn’t apply for Work Licence 06:45 – Magistrate agreed to reduce the disqualification period she reduced it to the 1 month minimum disqualification 07:20 – Magistrate decided not to record a criminal conviction 07:50 – Benefits of obtaining an experienced DUI Lawyer 08:20 – Contact Boorman Lawyers 1300 941 900 8:40 – Visit our website

Low Range Drink Driving Offence QLD

Our very concerned client initially contacted us to discuss what kind of penalties she was facing since he had been charged with Low Range Drink Driving Offence in Queensland otherwise known as “Driving over the General Limit but Under the Middle Range”.

Generally a person (on a standard Open Drivers Licence) will be charged with such an offence when there Blood Alcohol Reading is recorded as 0.050 but less than 0.100.

In this situation our client recorded a Blood Alcohol Reading of 0.087, so it’s easy to see that her reading was at the higher end of the Low Range Drink Driving category. So for us to be able to persuade the Court to give the maximum amount of leniency we had our work cut out for us.

NSW Licence BUT Charged in QLD Jurisdiction

The interesting issue about this case was that our client was a NSW resident and licence holder however was charged and arrested for Low Range Drink driving whilst visiting friends on the Gold Coast.

Unfortunately for our client this meant that because they were a NSW licence holder this automatically precluded our client from being able to make a Section 87 Restricted Work Licence Application.

Given our clients circumstances with their employment and means of earning a living our client would have been a prime candidate to obtain a work licence if they had of been the holder of a QLD licence. However, that wasn’t the case so ultimately our client was resigned to the fact that the Court had no other choice but to disqualify her licence for a period of time.

Penalties for Low Range Drink Driving in QLD

Since it was our clients 1st Drink Driving Offence and 1st Major Traffic Offence they were liable to received a period of disqualification between 1 month to 9 months off the road without a licence. Our client also faced a fine of a maximum penalty of $1649.00.

DUI Court Case Strategy

Since our client knew they were going to lose their licence the aim of the game from both our end and our clients needs were to try to obtain as low a period of disqualification as possible.

Whilst our client was precluded from applying for a Drink Driving Work Licence we still wanted to put across to the Magistrate that our client had a need to get back on the road quicker than the average person since our clients job and ability to earn an income depended on their drivers licence.

It was pointed out to the Magistrate that our client would have been a prime candidate for a QLD DUI Work Licence but was precluded due to the fact they were the holder a NSW drivers licence, that being the case we submitted that our client should receive the absolute minimum disqualification period of 1 month.

We supported this submission by tendering well written references from our clients employer confirming our clients need to drive in order to carry out their work duties.

We were able to tender some other very strong and favourable character references in favour of our client.

Furthermore, we tendered public transport schedules to highlight the fact that it was an incompatible mode of transport since it would not allow our client to get to their work place on time or assist in performing their work duties.

Traffic Offenders Program QLD

To show the Court that our client was serious about learning from the offending experience, our client successfully completed the approved Traffic Offenders Program.

This showed the Court our clients willingness to re-educate themselves on driver safety. The fact our client did this program was well received by the Magistrate of the Court.

Low Range DUI Court Results

The Magistrate agreed that it was unfortunate that our client was precluded from applying for a restricted work licence and took the rare opportunity to provide our client with the most lenient disqualification available at law.

Our client was disqualified from driving for the minimum period of 1 month.

What’s more is that the Magistrate did not record a criminal conviction against our client which was an added bonus in our clients favour.

Our client did received a fine of $600.

Overall our client was extremely happy not to received a criminal conviction and to only receive a disqualification period of 1 month.

Facing middle range drink driving at Southport Magistrates Court?

To recap: Overall our client was extremely happy not to received a criminal conviction and to only receive a disqualification period of 1 month. The matter above was heard at Southport Magistrates Court. Police recorded a reading of 0.087. The material before the court included a traffic offenders program certificate, character references, material from an employer and a letter of apology. Call 1300 941 900 if you need advice about middle range drink driving in Queensland.

For the law on middle range drink driving today, see our Queensland traffic law guides. Each case turns on its own facts, so treat this Southport Magistrates Court result as general information, not legal advice. Call 1300 941 900 or make an enquiry about legal representation.

Law update since this post (checked 21 Oct 2026)

This post was first published on 20 October 2016. The narrative above is kept as published. These notes record later changes to the law.

  • Queensland: For offences on or after 31 August 2026 the minimum for a first low-range court conviction on an open licence is 2 months (TORUM s 86(2)(eb)).

FAQs about this post

Who was the client in this Southport Magistrates Court matter?

Boorman Lawyers appeared at the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday 14 October 2016 for a client who had been charged with a Low Range Drink Driving Offence. Our experienced Southport Court DUI Lawyers were able to achieve a well-prepared outcome for our client.

How did Southport Magistrates Court deal with it?

Unfortunately for our client this meant that because they were a NSW licence holder this automatically precluded our client from being able to make a Section 87 Restricted Work Licence Application.

Can I rely on this October 2016 post?

Published 20 October 2016. Read it with the dated notes on this page and the up-to-date Queensland guides.

Sources and date checked

Sources and references for this page, checked 21 Oct 2026.

This page is general information about Queensland law only. It is not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts.

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  • Charge or reading (if known): Tell us the charge or reading if you have it — you do not need your full police facts yet.
  • Work & driving needs: Let us know if you rely on your licence for work or family responsibilities.
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