A Canadian woman who was at a ``critical'' time in her life yesterday avoided a conviction for drink-driving in Queenstown in June.

However, in the Queenstown District Court, Judge Bernadette Farnan said by granting Amanda Elizabeth Hanna (28), of Kelvin Heights, a discharge without conviction she was ``in no way, intending to set a precedent for any other person in circumstances such as yours''.

Hanna had earlier admitted driving with a breath-alcohol level of 484mcg on Stanley St on June 17.

Counsel Liam Collins described her as an ``exceptional young woman'' who was yet to have a ``firm foothold in a career''.

Judge Farnan said Hanna was employed at a craft brewery where, as part of her role, she had to sample new beers to assist customers.

On the day of the incident she had sampled some beer over a period of time but was ``not aware of the cumulative effect of alcohol''.

``There were also issues as to how much she'd eaten on the day,'' Judge Farnan said.

She was also a yoga instructor and nutritional adviser.

Mr Collins said Hanna had also previously been offered a job with a Canadian airline.

If she returned to her home country, that job offer was still open to her, but a conviction would impact that.

Following the incident she had completed more than 50 hours' voluntary community work and had engaged in counselling and rehabilitation.

He said it was ``completely out of character'' for her and if she was convicted, it could jeopardise any of her three potential career paths.

It would also put her immigration status and relationship at risk.

Police opposed the application, primarily due to the dangers and frequency of drink-driving in Queenstown and the public safety risk it posed.

While Judge Farnan accepted the police submission and said the courts ``must not condone drink-driving'', they were required to consider each application on its own merits, not on the basis of wider offending patterns.

She accepted the offending was out of character and did not consider Hanna likely to reoffend.

The incident was ``not the most serious of its kind'', she had taken immediate steps to get help, had been co-operative and was remorseful.

Judge Farnan also acknowledged it was a ``critical'' time in her life because she did not have any concrete plans or a chosen career path, but was looking at a variety of options.

She was, ``by a fine margin'', satisfied the consequences of a conviction would be out of proportion with the offending but warned Hanna she would ``not be given such leniency again''.

She was, however, disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to pay $130 court costs.