What are the Police Powers to Conduct a Random Breath Test?
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Victoria has suspended a $4 million road safety funding it had previously granted to Victoria Police. This came following revelations from an internal police investigation that over a 5-year period, over 258,000 breath tests were falsified by police officers in attempts to return negative readings. It is reported ...continue reading
The Law and Penalties for Mid-Range Drink Driving in NSW
New South Wales Police did almost 5 million road side breath tests just last year. New drink driving laws were announced earlier this year, effectively introducing on-the-spot fines of $561 (penalty notice) and immediate 3-month licence suspensions to anyone caught drink driving with a low-range concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood. A ...continue reading
Your Rights as a Driver in NSW when Confronted by Police
On July 13, highway patrol officers approached and stopped a 29-year-old mother who was driving along Wentworth Street with front end damage which caught the attention of the officers. This prompted them to follow and stop her to conduct a random breath test. Parked outside the Commercial Hotel, the mother gave a negative alcohol ...continue reading
New NSW Sentencing Penalty Introduced: The New ‘Intensive Corrections Orders’
On 24 October 2017, Parliament in NSW assented to the amending legislation which effectively changed the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). As of 24 September 2018, three major new sentencing options were introduced into NSW. A Magistrate or Judge can now impose any one of these new sentencing or penalty options for traffic ...continue reading
New Sentencing Option Introduced in NSW: ‘Community Correction Orders’
Our previous blog outlined how the ‘section 10 bond’ has now replaced the new ‘conditional release order’ as a new sentencing option in NSW for criminal and traffic offences. This blog outlines a further new sentencing option called a ‘community corrections order’ which effectively replaces the old ‘section 9 bond’ and ‘community service order’ penalties, ...continue reading
The End of ‘Section 10 Bonds’ in NSW as a Sentencing Option
The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) reflects the law behind all the sentencing options a Magistrates or Judges can impose on a person guilty of a NSW criminal or traffic offence. That Law has now changed and the new NSW sentencing penalties or options commence from today 24 September 2018 onwards. The popular ...continue reading
New Drink Driving Laws in NSW
By Jimmy Singh. The average court penalty for first time drink drivers in 2017 was $482. NSW Roads Minister, Melina Pavey said, that around 6000 people in NSW are charged with first time mid-range drink driving, and 55 people in 2017 died from drink driving. The police can give you a penalty notice for ...continue reading
New Laws on Drug Driving and Mobile Phone Use in NSW
The Controversial Drug Driving Laws in NSW To be guilty of DUI under section 112, the police only need to prove that you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of driving, the law doesn’t require proof that your driving skills were effected by drugs or alcohol. Under the current law ...continue reading
Can You Refuse to Give a DNA Sample to Police?
By Jimmy Singh and Fahim Khan Australian criminal law can be complex to understand, especially when it’s concerning police rights regarding when they can and can’t carry out intrusive tests on your body. Generally, DNA samples are considered to be more effective at solving crimes than fingerprints. DNA samples are considered to be very effective ...continue reading
The Fairness of Mobile Drug Tests and Your Rights
By Jimmy Singh & Tayla Regan In 2017, police have conducted about 112,000 roadside drug tests. This is expected to rise to about 200,000 each year from 2020. The relatively new drug driving laws have criminalised driving with the mere presence of illicit drugs in your saliva, urine or blood. Criminalising the mere presence of ...continue reading