QUEENSLAND

St George DUI Lawyers

In shortBoorman Lawyers are experienced, dedicated drink driving, drug driving and DUI lawyers who regularly appear at St George Magistrates Court and represent clients facing alcohol, drug and serious traffic charges at this courthouse. St George Magistrates Court is a Roma circuit court with a police callover at 9am on one Tuesday a month; Roma handles enquiries and filing. We assist clients at St George Magistrates Court by appearing at court mentions, guilty pleas and sentencing hearings, preparing comprehensive sentencing submissions and character reference material, advising on compulsory licence disqualification periods and mandatory alcohol interlock rules under Queensland law, and preparing section 87 restricted work licence and special hardship order applications.

  • Court: St George Magistrates Court, The Terrace, St George Qld 4487. Phone (07) 4622 9580. Hub registry: Roma, (07) 4578 8800.
  • Police callover (2026 calendar): 9am Tuesdays – remaining dates 27 October and 1 December 2026.
  • Licence: disqualification on every conviction; interlock from 0.10.

Queensland law · law checked 20 Oct 2026

St George Magistrates Court building, Queensland, with the Boorman Lawyers logo and phone number 1300 941 900
What's on this page

What does your reading mean for your licence?

After a drink driving charge in Queensland, the number on the breath analysis certificate drives almost every licence consequence. Under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (TORUM), it decides:

  • whether you can drive between the charge and court (s 79B);
  • the minimum and maximum disqualification the magistrate must impose (s 86);
  • whether a restricted work licence is possible (s 87); and
  • whether you will need an interlock afterwards (ss 91I and 91N).

Find your band below. Each one sets out the licence position for a first offence. Repeat offences within five years carry longer periods and are covered on the drink driving penalties page.

Under 0.05 – but you were on the no alcohol limit

Learner, provisional and probationary drivers, and drivers of trucks, buses and certain other vehicles, must have no alcohol at all. A reading of 0.02 or 0.03 can still be an offence.

  • Before court: if the reading was under 0.10, a 24-hour suspension, then usually you can drive until court.
  • Disqualification: 3 to 9 months (a 1-month minimum applies for some vehicles).
  • Work licence: not available to a learner, provisional or probationary licence holder, or to anyone driving a truck, bus or similar vehicle, or driving for work, at the time.
  • Interlock: not for a first offence under 0.10.
  • Afterwards: expect to restart a probationary period.

For farm and freight workers around St George, Dirranbandi and Bollon who drive heavy vehicles, this is the band that catches people out. A reading that would be lawful in the family car can end in a disqualification covering every class of licence held.

0.05 to under 0.10 – the general alcohol limit

This band covers most open licence holders who are over 0.05.

  • Before court: a 24-hour suspension, then usually you can drive until the court date, as long as no other drink driving charge is pending.
  • Disqualification: 2 to 9 months.
  • Work licence: possibly, if you meet the four s 87 conditions (see below).
  • Interlock: not for a first offence.
  • Afterwards: apply for a new licence; a probationary licence for at least one year.

People call this "low range", but that is an informal label. TORUM calls it the general alcohol limit.

0.10 to under 0.15 – the middle alcohol limit

The consequences step up sharply at 0.10.

  • Before court: your licence is suspended from the charge until the case is decided. With St George holding a police callover once a month, that can mean weeks off the road before sentence. A s 79E order may be available in limited circumstances.
  • Disqualification: 3 to 12 months.
  • Work licence: possibly, if you meet the s 87 conditions, but it will carry an interlock condition (s 87 note and s 91K).
  • Interlock: 12 months after the disqualification ends.
  • Afterwards: probationary licence plus interlock.

0.15 or more, under the influence, or failing to provide a specimen

These are treated the most seriously.

  • Before court: suspended from the charge until the case is decided.
  • Disqualification: at least 6 months.
  • Work licence: not available. A s 87 licence requires a reading under 0.15, and a refusal or under-the-influence charge does not give one.
  • Interlock: 12 months.
  • Afterwards: probationary licence plus interlock.

Refusing a breath test does not avoid these consequences. It is a charge in its own right, with the same six-month minimum.

Who can get a work licence?

A restricted (work) licence under TORUM s 87 lets you drive for work during the disqualification, under conditions. All four threshold conditions must be met:

  1. Open Queensland licence on the day – not learner, provisional or probationary.
  2. Reading under 0.15.
  3. Not driving for work, or driving a truck, bus or similar vehicle, when caught.
  4. Clean five years: no licence suspension, cancellation or disqualification and no relevant drink driving conviction.

Then you need evidence that refusing the licence would cause extreme hardship to you or your family by depriving you of your means of earning a living, and that you are a fit and proper person to drive. The application is made after the guilty plea and before the disqualification is ordered.

The St George calendar has no separate licence applications list. Ask the Roma hub registry where and when your application will be heard. The restricted work licence guide explains the affidavits and employer evidence. A special hardship licence is a different order for other suspensions, such as demerit point suspensions; it does not cover a court-ordered drink driving disqualification.

When is the St George police callover?

St George Magistrates Court is a circuit court of Roma. The 2026 calendar lists a police callover at 9am on one Tuesday a month, with domestic violence, civil, QCAT and children's matters on the Monday before. Reading the calendar's columns, the remaining 2026 police callovers fall on:

  • Tuesday 27 October 2026
  • Tuesday 1 December 2026

No November callover is shown. The calendar also notes the St George Show public holiday on 17 August, and says that any request to appear by telephone must be made in writing three working days before the mention. A phone appearance is at the court's discretion, and for a sentence where you will be disqualified, expect to attend in person.

The calendar is on the Queensland Courts website.

What happens at the callover?

When your name is called you can plead guilty and be sentenced, ask for an adjournment, or plead not guilty and have the matter set down for a hearing. At a monthly court, an adjournment usually means waiting until the next month, and if your reading was 0.10 or more, your pre-court suspension continues in the meantime.

On a guilty plea, the police prosecutor reads a short summary and your traffic history. You or your lawyer explain your circumstances and hand up any material, such as a Traffic Offenders Program certificate, references and an employer's letter. The magistrate then sets the fine and the disqualification, which starts immediately. Arrange a lift home before you leave for The Terrace.

The court process guide explains the day in more detail. If you think the test, the stop or the paperwork was flawed, read the drink driving defences page before entering a plea. The charges themselves are set out in the drink driving offences guide.

What about drug driving?

Drug driving has its own offences, based on a roadside saliva test confirmed by laboratory analysis. Driving with a relevant drug present does not require proof that you were affected, while driving under the influence of a drug does. The licence consequences differ from the alcohol bands above. See the drug driving offences and penalties page.

How does a disqualification land on Balonne Shire work?

Knowing your band tells you the range. Working out what it means day to day is the next step, and it is worth doing before the callover, not after.

Seasonal timing. A three-month disqualification that runs through cotton picking, grain harvest or a busy irrigation season can cost more than the same period in a quiet month. The court sets the period by the law and the facts, not the calendar, but your employer's letter can explain what the timing means for the business and for you.

Distance. Many jobs around St George start on properties well outside town, with no bus and few neighbours heading the same way. Write down how you will get to work if you cannot drive: a workmate, a family member, staying on the property during the week. The magistrate may ask, and a realistic plan shows you have thought about it.

Machinery on the road. Moving a tractor, header or loaded truck along a public road is driving. During a disqualification you cannot do it, even for a short stretch between paddocks.

Your own business. If you run a property, a contracting outfit or a trade business, prepare a short statement setting out who will do the driving while you cannot, and what it will cost. That material supports both the sentencing submissions and, if you are eligible, a s 87 application.

What if you hold a NSW or other interstate licence?

St George is not far from the New South Wales border, and drivers from Mungindi, Lightning Ridge and further south are charged at St George if the offence happened in Queensland. The charge is under Queensland law, and the reading bands above apply in the same way.

Two differences matter. First, a s 87 restricted licence needs an open Queensland licence, so an interstate licence holder cannot apply. Second, a Queensland court cannot cancel your interstate licence, but it disqualifies you from driving in Queensland and the order is generally recognised by your home state's licensing authority. Check with that authority before you drive anywhere, and keep a copy of the Queensland court order with your licence paperwork so you can show exactly when the disqualification started and ends.

How does the licence come back?

It does not come back automatically. When the disqualification ends, apply to the Department of Transport and Main Roads for a new licence. Expect a probationary licence for at least one year and, if your reading was 0.10 or more or you were convicted of driving under the influence, failing to provide a specimen or a repeat offence, an interlock for 12 months.

In the Balonne Shire, fitting an interlock can mean travelling to an approved installer in a larger town, so book early. The alcohol interlock page explains how the program works, and TMR's alcohol ignition interlocks page gives the official requirements.

Which nearby courts might be on your notice?

Approximate straight-line distances from St George: Roma about 165 km north (the hub registry) and Goondiwindi about 178 km east. Your Notice to Appear names the court you must attend. If you were stopped on the Queensland side of the border near Mungindi or Hebel, Queensland law applies. More guides are on the QLD traffic law hub.

St George Magistrates Court and Roma hub details

Courtroom The Terrace, St George Qld 4487
Postal address PO Box 266, St George Qld 4487
St George phone (07) 4622 9580
Hub registry (enquiries and filing) Roma Magistrates Court, 141 McDowall Street, Roma Qld 4455 – (07) 4578 8800
Email courthouse.stgeorge@justice.qld.gov.au
St George hours 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 9.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm Wednesday

Sources: Queensland Courts Magistrates Courts directory, checked 19 October 2026, and the 2026 St George calendar.

To talk about your St George matter, call 1300 941 900 or make an enquiry about legal representation.

Queensland penalty changes in 2026: check your offence date (law checked 20 Oct 2026).

Offences on or after 31 August 2026: higher maximum fines apply. They are 20 penalty units ($3,454) for the general alcohol limit and no alcohol limit offences, 28 ($4,835.60) for the middle alcohol limit and 40 ($6,908) for driving under the influence of liquor or a drug. A first general alcohol limit conviction (0.05 to under 0.10) on an open licence now carries 2 to 9 months' disqualification. For offences before 31 August 2026 it was 1 to 9 months. Police can now give an eligible first low-range driver on an open Queensland licence an infringement notice of $1,295 instead of a court charge. Unless the driver elects to go to court, a 2-month disqualification follows. It counts as a conviction, and there is no work licence for that period. Drug driving (a relevant drug present) has not changed yet. The maximum is 14 penalty units ($2,417.80) or 3 months, with 1 to 9 months' disqualification on an open licence and 3 to 9 months for learner, P-plate and unlicensed drivers.

Offences on or after 1 December 2026: minimum fines start for drink and drug driving. For example, the minimum is 7.5 penalty units for low range and for drug driving. The drug driving maximum rises to 28 penalty units, and a first offence on an open licence carries 2 to 9 months' disqualification. A new offence of driving with a relevant drug present while over an alcohol limit adds 1 month to the disqualification range.

An offence committed before a change is generally dealt with under the penalties in force when it happened. Sources: TORUM ss 78E, 79, 79B, 79H–79J and 86, as amended by the Queensland Community Safety Act 2024 and the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2026. Penalty unit $172.70 from 1 July 2026.

St George drink driving FAQs

I blew 0.08. Can I drive to the St George callover?

Usually yes, after the 24-hour suspension, if no other drink driving charge is pending. Arrange a lift home, because a disqualification starts in the courtroom.

I blew 0.11. When can I drive again?

Not until the court decides the charge, and then only after the disqualification ends, unless the court grants a s 87 restricted licence. An interlock will apply when you return to driving.

Can I get a work licence if I was driving a truck?

No. A s 87 restricted licence is not available if you were driving a truck, bus or similar vehicle, or driving for work, when caught.

Who do I call about my St George listing?

St George on (07) 4622 9580, or the Roma hub registry on (07) 4578 8800, which the calendar names for enquiries and filing.

Can I appear by phone from a property?

Only if you apply in writing at least three working days before the mention, and the court agrees. For a sentence, expect to attend in person.

Does a first offence under 0.10 mean an interlock?

No, not usually. For a first offence, the interlock applies from 0.10, or for driving under the influence or failing to provide a specimen.

St George Magistrates Court — court details

St George Magistrates Court

Street
The Terrace, St George QLD 4487
Postal
PO Box 266, St George Qld 4487
Phone
(07) 4622 9580
Email
courthouse.stgeorge@justice.qld.gov.au
Registry hours
8.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday · 9.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm Wednesday
Days open
Police callover 9am on one Tuesday a month; domestic violence 11.30am and QCAT/civil and children's 2pm on the Monday before
➜ Get directions

Queensland Courts, Magistrates Courts directory (saved 19 Oct 2026) and St George Magistrates Court (Roma Circuit) 2026 calendar (downloaded 20 Oct 2026). These are the court registry's details, not Boorman Lawyers office details. Check your court papers for your listing time and courtroom.

Enquire about legal representation

Enquire about legal representation

Call 1300 941 900 or make an enquiry about legal representation.

What to have ready

  • Court & next listing date: Which court is on your paperwork and when your matter is listed.
  • 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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