Drink or Drug Driving (Defendant) - Restricted Section 87 Work Licence Application

Purpose of this Guide: Use this fork when your client is eligible for a restricted work licence under section 87 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld) and needs to make that application alongside entering a guilty plea. This fork covers the strict eligibility audit, affidavit drafting, and court advocacy required to secure the restricted licence before the disqualification order is finalised.\n\nJurisdiction: under the (Qld) - specifically section 87 and the Transport Operations (Road Use Management - Driver Licensing) Regulation 2010 (Qld). The application must be made at the same hearing at which the guilty plea is entered and the disqualification is imposed.\n\nThe Process at a Glance: The lawyer first conducts a rigorous statutory eligibility audit: the client must have held an open Queensland licence at the time of the offence, the blood alcohol concentration recorded must be below 0.15, and the client must have had no licence suspensions or disqualifications within the preceding five years. Drug driving charges are generally ineligible. If all criteria are satisfied, the lawyer drafts two detailed affidavits - a Defendant Affidavit establishing that the client genuinely needs to drive for work and would suffer extreme hardship without a licence, and an Employer Affidavit from the client's employer confirming the driving necessity. The work licence application (Form F3181) is filed at the court registry before the hearing date. On the day of the hearing, the guilty plea is entered first, then the section 87 application is argued before the Magistrate. The Magistrate has a discretion to grant or refuse the application and, if granted, imposes the restricted licence alongside the disqualification order.\n\nKey Legislation and Case Law: - s 87 (restricted licence application: eligibility requirements including open licence, BAC below 0.15, no prior disqualifications in past 5 years, genuine need to drive for work, and extreme hardship test), s 79 (the guilty plea and disqualification at the same hearing). - sets out the conditions and terms of restricted licences. The 'absolute necessity' and 'extreme hardship' tests under s 87 require detailed factual evidence: the court will not grant the application on bare assertions. The Defendant Affidavit must address each eligibility criterion specifically. The employer's affidavit must be sworn, not merely a letter. Provisionally licensed, learner, and drug-driving defendants are generally ineligible regardless of hardship.