If your Queensland provisional or open drivers licence has been suspended then you may be eligible for a Special Hardship Order permitting you to drive during the period of your cancellation.
The Special Hardship Order permits a driver whose licence has been suspended to continue to drive under specified circumstances. These include:
- The purpose for which the motor vehicle may be driven under the licence;
- Class of motor vehicle which may be driven;
- Times at which the driver may drive;
- Whether named passengers may be transported in the vehicle; and
- A requirement to carry the Special Hardship Order.
You are eligible to apply if you were the holder of a Queensland open, P, P1 or P2 licence.
You are ineligible to apply if within the last 5 years before the making of the application:
- Your Queensland driver licence has been cancelled, suspended or you have been disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence; or
- You have previously made an application for a Special Hardship Order; or
- You have been convicted of operating a motor vehicle dangerously; or
- Your authority to drive on Queensland roads under a non-Queensland drivers licence has been suspended; or
- You were unlicensed at the time of exceeding your demerit point threshold or conviction for speeding more than 40 km/h.
Your application must be made within 21 clear days after your licence was suspended. Your suspension will then stay under the hearing of the Application.
The Court can only grant a s79E order if they are satisfied that:
- You are a fit and proper person to continue to drive, having regard for the safety of other road users and the public generally; and
- The refusal to grant the order would cause either:
- Extreme financial hardship to you or your family by depriving you or your means of earning a livelihood; or
- Severe and unusual hardship to you or your family, other than by depriving you of your means of earning a livelihood.
There are additional requirements relating to where the Application needs to be filed, when and upon whom it must be served and what must accompany the Application to satisfy the statutory requirements. If you do not prepare your case correctly, the Court may reject your Application and you may be precluded from making a further Application. You should attend upon an experienced Criminal Law Solicitor such as Michael Gatenby to ensure you have the best chance of being granted your licence.
To schedule an appointment with Michael Gatenby please contact our office on 07 5580 0120.