QUEENSLAND

Stanthorpe DUI Lawyers

In shortBoorman Lawyers are experienced, dedicated drink driving, drug driving and DUI lawyers who regularly appear at Stanthorpe Magistrates Court and represent clients facing alcohol, drug and serious traffic charges at this courthouse. Stanthorpe Magistrates Court at 51 Marsh Street sits about once a month, so a Granite Belt drink driving charge can take several weeks to reach court. We assist clients at Stanthorpe 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: Stanthorpe Magistrates Court, 51 Marsh Street, Stanthorpe Qld 4380. Phone (07) 4661 6730. Registry closed 1pm to 2pm.
  • Sittings (2026 calendar): monthly, on set Tuesdays – remaining 2026 dates read as 27 October and 1 December; licence applications and SHOs at 11.30am.
  • Licence: disqualification on every conviction; 12-month interlock from 0.10.

Queensland law · law checked 20 Oct 2026

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

How does a Stanthorpe drink driving charge move through each stage?

A charge laid on the Granite Belt follows a set path. The table gives the order, and the sections below explain each stage. Stanthorpe Magistrates Court does not sit every week, so the gap between the roadside and the courtroom can be longer than in a city court.

Stage When it happens What decides it
1. Roadside test and charge On the night Your reading, licence type and whether you gave a specimen
2. Licence suspension From the charge until court, or for 24 hours TORUM s 79B and your reading
3. Waiting for the sitting Usually several weeks Stanthorpe's monthly calendar
4. Preparation Between the charge and court References, program, work licence papers
5. Court day at Marsh Street The Tuesday on your notice Your plea and the magistrate
6. Disqualification Starts the moment it is ordered TORUM s 86 and the limit you exceeded
7. Returning to driving After the disqualification ends Probationary licence and interlock rules

Stage 1: What happens at the roadside?

Police on the New England Highway, the back roads around Applethorpe and Ballandean, or in town can require a breath test at any time. If the roadside test indicates alcohol, you are taken for an evidentiary breath test on an approved instrument. That reading is the one that matters for the charge.

The limit you were tested against depends on your licence. Learner, provisional and probationary drivers, and drivers of trucks, buses and some other vehicles, are on the no alcohol limit. Most open licence holders in a private car are on the general limit of 0.05.

Under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (TORUM), the offences are grouped by limit:

  • General alcohol limit: 0.05 to under 0.10.
  • Middle alcohol limit: 0.10 to under 0.15.
  • High alcohol limit: 0.15 or more.
  • Under the influence of alcohol or a drug, which does not depend on a particular reading.
  • Failing to provide a specimen of breath or blood when lawfully required.

People sometimes call these "low", "mid" and "high range". Those are informal labels, not the terms in TORUM. Drug driving, where a relevant drug is found in saliva or blood, is a separate group of offences explained on the drug driving offences and penalties page.

Police then hand you a Notice to Appear, or in more serious cases arrest you and grant bail. Either document names the court and the date. For a charge on the Granite Belt, that is usually Stanthorpe.

Stage 2: Can you drive home, and until court?

Not that night. After the charge, your licence is affected straight away:

  • Reading under 0.10 with no other charge pending: a 24-hour suspension under TORUM s 79B. After that you can usually drive until the court date.
  • Reading of 0.10 or more, failing to provide a specimen, or another drink driving charge already pending: your licence is suspended until the charge is dealt with in court.

That second rule matters more in Stanthorpe than in a busy city court. Because the court sits about once a month, being off the road until the case is decided can mean weeks without a licence before you even reach the magistrate. A s 79E order may allow some drivers to keep driving until the court date in limited circumstances. It has strict conditions and a short window, so get advice quickly if you want to consider it.

Stage 3: When will your case reach Stanthorpe court?

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court at 51 Marsh Street sits on set days rather than every weekday. Under the 2026 calendar, the court sits on a Tuesday each month, with community corrections and Commonwealth matters on the Wednesday that follows.

The lists on a Stanthorpe sitting day are:

List Time
Arrests and remands 9am
Domestic violence and youth justice 9am
Special hardship orders, licence applications, council and other government departments 11.30am
Civil and QCAT 12.30pm

The calendar does not name a separate police traffic list, so check your notice for the time you must be there. Reading the calendar's month columns, the remaining 2026 sittings fall on Tuesday 27 October and Tuesday 1 December, with no sitting shown for November. A charge laid in early November may therefore not reach court until December or later.

The calendar also says every defendant on bail or a notice to appear should arrive half an hour early so the duty lawyer can take instructions. Sentences expected to take more than 15 minutes are given their own date and time. Check the Queensland Courts calendars page for the current Stanthorpe calendar.

Stage 4: What should you prepare while you wait?

The weeks before a Stanthorpe sitting are the time to get your material in order. Use them well:

  1. Get the police paperwork together. Keep the Notice to Appear, the breath test certificate and anything else police gave you.
  2. Work out whether a work licence is possible. The eligibility rules are set out under stage 6. If you qualify, the affidavits must be ready before the court date.
  3. Complete a course. The Traffic Offenders Program or a similar course can be completed before court, and the certificate handed up.
  4. Gather references. Two or three people who know you well, who know about the charge and can speak to your character and your need to drive.
  5. Ask your employer for a letter if your job depends on driving between orchards, vineyards, farms or towns.
  6. Arrange transport home. A disqualification starts in the courtroom.

If you think the reading, the test procedure or the stop itself was wrong, read the drink driving defences page before you decide how to plead. A not guilty plea is adjourned to a hearing, and at a monthly court that adds more time.

Stage 5: What happens on the day at Marsh Street?

Arrive at least half an hour before your listed time, as the calendar asks. Tell the court staff you are there, and have your Notice to Appear with you.

When your matter is called, you can:

  • Plead guilty and be sentenced that day, if you are prepared.
  • Ask for an adjournment to get advice or finish preparing. Remember that the next sitting may be a month or more away, and your licence suspension may continue in the meantime.
  • Plead not guilty, in which case the matter is set down for a hearing on a later date.

On a guilty plea, the police prosecutor reads a short summary of the facts and hands up your traffic history. You, or your lawyer, then explain your circumstances: your work, your family, your need to drive and the steps you have taken since the charge. The magistrate then sets the fine and the disqualification. The DUI court process guide explains the courtroom in more detail.

Stage 6: How long is the disqualification, and is a work licence possible?

Under TORUM s 86, every drink driving conviction carries a disqualification, even if the magistrate does not record a conviction. For a first offence, the ranges are:

Limit exceeded Minimum Maximum
No alcohol limit (some vehicles: 1 month minimum) 3 months 9 months
General alcohol limit (0.05 to under 0.10) 2 months 9 months
Middle alcohol limit (0.10 to under 0.15) 3 months 12 months
High alcohol limit (0.15 or more), under the influence, or failing to provide a specimen 6 months At the court's discretion

Fines and the longer periods for repeat offences are on the drink driving penalties page, and the offence elements are on the drink driving offences guide.

Can you get a work licence?

A restricted (work) licence under TORUM s 87 lets some drivers keep driving for work during the disqualification. The application is made after the finding of guilt and before the magistrate disqualifies you. You must meet all of these starting conditions:

  1. You hold an open Queensland licence – not a learner, provisional or probationary licence.
  2. Your reading was under 0.15.
  3. You were not driving in the course of your work, or driving a truck, bus or similar vehicle, when caught.
  4. In the past five years you have not had your licence suspended or cancelled, or been disqualified, and you have no relevant drink driving conviction.

Then you must prove 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. If your reading was 0.10 or more, a restricted licence carries an interlock condition (s 87 note and s 91K).

At Stanthorpe, licence applications appear in the 11.30am list on the sitting day. The restricted work licence guide explains the affidavits and what the magistrate looks for. A special hardship licence is a different order, used for some suspensions such as demerit point suspensions. It does not cover a court-ordered drink driving disqualification.

Stage 7: How do you get back on the road?

When the disqualification ends, your licence does not come back on its own. You need to apply to the Department of Transport and Main Roads for a new licence. Two conditions are likely:

  • Probationary licence for at least one year, during which the no alcohol limit applies.
  • Alcohol interlock for 12 months 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 drink driving offence (TORUM ss 91I and 91N).

On the Granite Belt, fitting an interlock can involve a trip to an approved installer in a larger centre, so allow time in your planning. The alcohol interlock page explains the program, the costs and the exemptions, and the TMR alcohol ignition interlocks page gives the official requirements.

What if the charge is drug driving rather than alcohol?

The stages are the same, but the test is different. Police use a roadside saliva test, and a positive result is confirmed by laboratory analysis before the charge is finalised. That means a drug driving Notice to Appear can arrive some time after the stop, and the first Stanthorpe sitting may be further away again.

A charge of driving with a relevant drug present (such as THC, methylamphetamine or MDMA) does not depend on whether you felt affected. A charge of driving under the influence of a drug is more serious and carries the longer minimum disqualification. Both are dealt with at the same Marsh Street sitting as alcohol matters.

The disqualification periods and fines differ from those for alcohol readings, and the work licence rules apply differently, so read the drug driving page linked under stage 1 before you plan around a work licence.

Which nearby courts might be on your notice instead?

Police sometimes list a matter at a different court from the one you expect. Distances below are approximate straight-line figures from Stanthorpe:

  • Warwick Magistrates Court – about 49 km north, which also handles the registry for Inglewood.
  • Inglewood Magistrates Court – about 87 km west.
  • Tenterfield Local Court – about 45 km south, across the border in New South Wales. It deals with charges laid in NSW under NSW law, not Queensland charges.

If you were stopped in Queensland, the charge is under Queensland law and goes to a Queensland court, even if you live in Tenterfield or hold a NSW licence. A Queensland disqualification is recorded nationally and should be expected to affect a licence issued in another state. For other Queensland courts and guides, see the QLD traffic law hub.

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court details

Street address 51 Marsh Street, Stanthorpe Qld 4380
Postal address PO Box 308, Stanthorpe Qld 4380
Phone (07) 4661 6730
Email courthouse.stanthorpe@justice.qld.gov.au
Registry hours 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday

Source: Queensland Courts Magistrates Courts directory, checked 19 October 2026. The registry closes for lunch, so plan any phone call or visit around that hour.

To talk about your Stanthorpe 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.

Stanthorpe drink driving FAQs

Why has my Stanthorpe court date been set so far away?

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court sits on set days each month rather than every weekday. Your matter goes to the next sitting with room in the list, which can be several weeks after the charge.

Can I drive while I wait for the Stanthorpe sitting?

If your reading was under 0.10 and you have no other drink driving charge pending, usually yes, after a 24-hour suspension. At 0.10 or more, or for failing to provide a specimen, your licence stays suspended until the court deals with the charge.

What time should I arrive at Stanthorpe court?

At least half an hour before the time on your notice. The 2026 calendar asks defendants to arrive early so the duty lawyer can take instructions.

I live in Tenterfield but was caught near Stanthorpe. Which law applies?

Queensland law, because the offence happened in Queensland. The charge goes to the Queensland court named on your notice, not to Tenterfield Local Court.

Can I apply for a work licence if my reading was 0.12?

Possibly. A reading under 0.15 meets one of the conditions, but you also need an open licence, a clean five-year licence history, and evidence of extreme hardship. An interlock condition applies to a restricted licence granted for a reading of 0.10 or more.

Will I need an interlock after a first offence?

Yes, if your reading was 0.10 or more, or you were convicted of driving under the influence or failing to provide a specimen. Under the general alcohol limit, the interlock does not usually apply for a first offence.

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court — court details

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court

Street
51 Marsh Street, Stanthorpe QLD 4380
Postal
PO Box 308, Stanthorpe Qld 4380
Phone
(07) 4661 6730
Email
courthouse.stanthorpe@justice.qld.gov.au
Registry hours
8.30am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm, Monday to Friday
Days open
Monthly sittings on set Tuesdays: arrests and remands 9am; SHO, licence, council and government department applications 11.30am
➜ Get directions

Queensland Courts, Magistrates Courts directory (saved 19 Oct 2026) and Stanthorpe Magistrates Court 2026 calendar (checked 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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