What Happens in Court for a Drink Driving Charge in Queensland?
Drink Driving — 2026-04-20 — by Sacha Sarah Smith, Civic Law
What happens in court for a drink driving charge in Queensland. The process from first mention to sentence, and how to prepare.
For most people, a drink driving charge is the first time they have ever set foot inside a <a href="/cairns-magistrates-court">Magistrates Court</a>. The day itself is short. The decisions made that day — the disqualification, the fine, whether a <a href="/work-licences-explained-queensland">work licence</a> is granted — last far longer.
Drink Driving Is a Traffic Offence Heard in the Magistrates Court
In Queensland, drink driving offences sit under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld) — known in practice as the TORUM Act. Section 79 sets out the main offences: driving, attempting to put in motion, or being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or a drug, or while over a prescribed alcohol limit.
The TORUM Act distinguishes between the following offences:
Driving under the influence of liquor or a drug (DUI) — section 79(1). This is the most serious drink driving charge. It requires proof of impairment, not a specific BAC reading. It is a separate offence from exceeding a prescribed alcohol limit.
Driving over the middle alcohol limit (BAC of 0.10 to under 0.15) — section 79(1F).
A BAC of 0.150 or above — section 79(3) creates a conclusive presumption that the person was under the influence of liquor, meaning the person is deemed to have committed the DUI offence under section 79(1). This is the most serious drink driving charge category, with higher penalties and no work licence eligibility.
Driving over the general alcohol limit (BAC of 0.05 to less than 0.10) — section 79(2).
Driving over the no alcohol limit — applicable to learners, probationary and provisional licence holders, drivers of certain commercial vehicles, and others — section 79(2A) or (2B).
Drink driving is classified as a simple offence and is dealt with in the Magistrates Court. There is no jury, no committal to the District Court, and no separate sentencing hearing in another courtroom. The matter starts and finishes in the same place — usually on the same day, if the matter is properly prepared.
A drink driving conviction is recorded on a person's traffic history rather than their criminal history. That distinction matters for employment and licensing checks, and it is a common reason people instruct a lawyer to put proper material before the court at sentence.
How the Matter Gets to Court
After a roadside breath test and an evidentiary test at the station, police decide what charge to lay. For most drink driving matters, police issue a Notice to Appear under section 382 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld). That notice records the charge, the court, the date, and the time the person must attend.
The court is almost always the Magistrates Court closest to where the offence occurred. For people charged in Cairns and the surrounding region, that usually means appearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court.
Where the charge is driving under the influence (section 79(1)) — including where a BAC of 0.150 or above triggers the conclusive presumption under section 79(3) — driving over the middle alcohol limit (section 79(1F)), or failing to provide a specimen, the licence is also suspended immediately at the time of charging under section 79B of the TORUM Act.