If you plead guilty at a Magistrates’ Court in relation to drink driving you can be sentenced with or without conviction. What does this mean? Not a great deal, actually. Whether you are sentenced with or without conviction, the record will still appear on a record check and you will still serve (as a starting point) the minimum period of time off the road. If the sentence is made without conviction, the record will simply show that the matter was recorded as a non-conviction, but it does not mean that it will not show up. To obtain no record at all you would need to be granted a diversion. Unfortunately, diversions are not available in relation to drink driving matters because of the mandatory orders in relation to licence.

Some lawyers form the view that if you receive a traffic infringement you should appeal and argue before a magistrate for a non-conviction. It is possible to appeal a drink driving traffic infringement notice and take it to court, but then you will have a record that indicates you went to court with a finding of guilt (potentially without a conviction) as opposed to a record that indicates you received a traffic infringement notice with conviction. Further more sub .07 infringement notices in relation to first time offenders will attract double the penalty if they are later unsuccessfully challenged in Court.

Unless there is a specific reason that you require a non-conviction outcome, our view is that there is no point appealing a traffic infringement for the sole purpose of obtaining a non-conviction in circumstances where your goal is to avoid any form of record. It will still appear on your record. If you have any other motive for wanting a non-conviction, we can certainly assist you to achieve that outcome. For more information on the meaning of non-conviction vs conviction please click here.