Speeding Appeals

Your driving licence may be suspended for various reasons. Driving beyond the permissible speeding limit is one of the reasons whereby your licence may be suspended. In New South Wales (NSW), the Road Transport Authority (RTA) or a designated police officer may suspend your licence for a period of either 3 months or 6 months depending upon the seriousness of the following speeding offences you have committed:

Driving more than 45 km/h above the speed limit; or

Driving more than 30 km/h but not more than 45 km/h above the speed limit.

Procedure for Hearing Speeding Appeals in NSW

If your driving licence has been suspended by the RTA or the police, you may prefer an appeal to the local Court against such decision of the RTA or the police within 28 days from the date of receipt of the Notice of Suspension issued by the RTA containing details of commencement of the suspension of your licence for a period of 3 or 6 months. Once you make an appeal, you will be given a specified date when your appeal will be heard before the Magistrate. You will be required to attend the Court on that date and make your submissions as to why your licence should not be suspended. In considering the merits of your appeal, the Court will take into account:

The circumstances surrounding your offence including the reason you were speeding;

Your character or traffic record; and

Your need for the license as to how losing the license will affect you and your job, work, career and family.

The Court has wide powers to confirm the decision of the RTA to suspend your licence or disallow the suspension or vary it. The Court is also empowered to make such other order(s) as it may deem fit after weighing the circumstances of each case. The decision of the Court, once taken is final and cannot be appealed against.

However you cannot appeal against the following decisions of the RTA:

A decision to suspend your unrestricted driver’s license for loss of demerit points;

A decision to suspend your interlock driver’s license; and

Where you have breached the good behaviour bond license.

Obtaining Section 10 Certificate of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

You can choose to take a traffic infringement notice to the Court and ask the Court not to convict you in a traffic offence. Under Section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 a Court may discharge you without recording a conviction. Owing to absence of a conviction, there will be no criminal record against you. Hence, neither you lose your driver’s license nor you are penalized. In case you are successful in obtaining a Section 10 certificate under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, the RTA cannot impose demerit points on you for the traffic offence and therefore, your license will not be suspended.

Dangerous Driving
Demerit Points
Traffic Laws
Drink Driving

Drink Driving Penalties
Licence & Speeding Offences
Speeding Appeals
Other Driving Offences