Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1999

If a person is served with a notice of licence suspension under section 18, the person may elect, as an alternative to undergoing the period of licence suspension applying under the notice, to be of good behaviour for a 12-month period.

The election must be made by notice given to the road transport authority in the period that—

begins on the day the notice of licence suspension was served on the person; and

ends the day before the person’s licence suspension ends.

For how documents may be served, see the Legislation Act, pt 19.5.

The 12-month period of good behaviour under this section begins—

for a person who makes an election on or before the day on which the suspension of their licence is to begin—the day the person’s licence suspension would have begun; or

for a person who makes an election after the day on which the suspension of their licence is to begin—the day the authority receives notice of the election.

If the person makes the election and incurs 2 or more demerit points during the 12 month good behaviour period, the road transport authority must serve a notice of licence suspension on the person under this section.

For how documents may be served, see the Legislation Act, pt 19.5.

The notice of licence suspension—

must state the date of the notice; and

must state the date, not earlier than 21 days after the notice is served on the person, when the suspension of the person’s driver licence is to begin (the date of effect); and

must state the period of licence suspension; and

must include any other information required by regulation; and

may include any additional information the road transport authority considers appropriate.

The period of licence suspension is the period, beginning on the date of effect, that is twice as long as the period of licence suspension that would have applied to the person if the person had not made the election.

If the person is served with a notice of licence suspension under this section, the person’s driver licence is suspended for the period of licence suspension.

A person whose driver licence is suspended under this section is not entitled to apply for, or be issued with, a restricted licence during the suspension period.

At the beginning of the period of licence suspension under this section, all demerit points recorded in the demerit points register against the person on the date of the notice of licence suspension under this section, and taken into account for the notice, are taken to be deleted.

Subsection (9) does not prevent the road transport authority keeping records of deleted demerit points.