Page 94 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2016
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mail to ensure that the notice is received. The Road Transport Authority will also continue to send reminder notices in the mail to those drivers who have not paid or otherwise disputed the infringement notice by the due date.
The fifth amendment made by the bill relates to drivers who receive an immediate licence suspension notice. Currently the legislation provides that drivers with an ACT drivers licence who are convicted of a drink or drug-driving offence automatically have the period of their disqualification reduced by the number of days their licence has been suspended since receiving an immediate suspension notice. This reduction does not apply to interstate and foreign drivers licence holders. The amendment ensures that all drivers, whether they hold an ACT, interstate or foreign driver licence, are treated equally in this regard. All drivers will have their period of disqualification as imposed by the court reduced by the length of time that has passed since their licence was suspended following a police officer issuing them with an immediate suspension notice. This also has the benefit of better aligning the ACT road transport legislation with the New South Wales legislation.
The final amendment made by this bill relates to claims made by some drivers that they are not aware of the suspension of their drivers licence and the implications of this in prosecutions for unlicensed driving. ACT Policing officers regularly encounter drivers whose licences have been suspended who claim that they were not aware of the suspension. Drivers often claim that they did not receive a licence suspension notice issued by the Road Transport Authority. Under existing provisions in the road transport legislation, the Road Transport Authority may serve a notice of licence suspension on a driver in a number of circumstances, including where the driver has accumulated more than the maximum number of demerit points, failed to pay infringement notice penalties, or failed to comply with an infringement notice management plan. This amendment ensures that where a suspension notice has been sent to a person and police encounter the person after their licence has been suspended, the police officer’s advice to the driver that their licence has been suspended will be treated as formal advice of suspension.
Police will advise the Road Transport Authority when they have informed a driver of this suspension so that this can be documented in authority records. This will be relevant in circumstances where a driver is subsequently detected driving while unlicensed and claims that he or she did not receive the initial notice of the suspension from the authority and was therefore unaware that he or she should not have been driving. The amendment will allow the prosecution to prove that the driver was made aware of their licence suspension.
Madam Speaker, this bill supports the government’s ongoing efforts to improve road safety and reduce anti-social driving behaviour on our roads. I commend the bill to the Assembly and thank members for their support today.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
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