High-Range Drink Drive at Airport Carpark, No Conviction Recorded

High-range drink driving in an airport car park: a first-offence matter resolved without a recorded conviction.

Car parks are not public roads, but they are not outside Queensland’s drink driving laws either. A charge of driving under the influence of liquor can be laid in any place where a vehicle is operated, including a private car park. That is one of the less well-known aspects of section 79 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld), and it is the legal context in which this matter arose.

The facts.

In August 2024, car park staff at a domestic airport observed a vehicle travelling the wrong way on an exit ramp. The driver was stopped by staff, and police were called. Officers administered a roadside breath test, then transported the driver to a nearby police station for formal breath analysis using an approved instrument.

The analysis returned a breath alcohol concentration of 0.203 grammes of alcohol per 210 litres of breath. That reading is well above the high alcohol limit of 0.15 and placed the matter in the most serious first-offence category. The driver was charged under section 79(1)(a) of the Act with driving under the influence of liquor, released on bail, and given a date to appear in the Magistrates Court.

The driver had consumed alcohol earlier that morning and had intended to travel overseas for work that day. There was no collision, no injury, and no prior traffic history of significance.

The charge and what it carries.

A charge under section 79(1)(a) is among the most serious drink driving offences available in Queensland. For a first offence, the court may impose a fine of up to 28 penalty units (currently $4,165), up to nine months’ imprisonment, and must disqualify the driver for a minimum of six months. A work licence is not available for this offence category. The alcohol ignition interlock scheme applies when the driver seeks to return to the road after the disqualification period.

Immediate licence suspension ordinarily takes effect once a high-range charge is laid, meaning the driver cannot drive from that point until the matter is finalised by the court.

The sentencing outcome.

At the sentence hearing, the client pleaded guilty. The court imposed a seven-month licence disqualification and a fine of $750. No conviction was recorded.

The court exercised its discretion under section 12 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) to decline to record a conviction. In doing so, it weighed the nature of the offence and the circumstances of the driving against the driver’s character, prior good record, and the disproportionate impact a recorded conviction would have on his employment and ability to travel internationally for work.

Submissions were made on the basis that the driving was brief, the vehicle moved a short distance within a car park rather than on a public road, the driver cooperated fully with police, entered an early guilty plea, and had engaged promptly with counselling. Character references were tendered. No imprisonment was imposed.

Outcomes in drink driving matters depend on the BAC reading, the circumstances of the driving, the client’s prior history, and the strength of the submissions prepared for sentencing. No two matters are the same.

What this matter illustrates about the law.

Several aspects of this matter are worth understanding clearly, because they arise in similar cases.

First, the location. Many people assume that driving in a car park, on private property, or in a place that is not a gazetted road falls outside drink driving laws. Section 79 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld) applies to driving “on a road or elsewhere.” The “elsewhere” captures car parks, petrol station forecourts, shopping centre car parks, and similar spaces. The charge in this matter was properly laid.

Second, the no-conviction discretion. Section 12 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) gives the court power to find a person guilty of an offence without recording a conviction. This is a genuine judicial discretion, not a technicality. The court must be satisfied, having regard to the person’s character and antecedents, the nature of the offence, and the impact of a recorded conviction on the person’s social and economic wellbeing, that recording a conviction is not warranted. It is not available as of right, and the court is not obliged to exercise it favourably.

Third, the interlock condition. Even where a disqualification period ends and the driver is eligible to return to the road, an alcohol ignition interlock condition attaches for the prescribed period. Driving a vehicle not fitted with an interlock during that period is a separate offence.

Fourth, the traffic history. A no-conviction outcome under section 12 does not erase the matter from the driver’s traffic history. The Department of Transport and Main Roads retains a record of the offence and the disqualification. It is the criminal history consequence, not the traffic history, that the no-conviction order addresses.

If you would like to discuss your matter, you can book a consultation or call (07) 5554 6116.