How do I get a special hardship licence in Brisbane?
If your driving licence is suspended due to a high-speed driving offence or for breaching a good behaviour period, you may be able to apply for a special hardship order. You may know this as a special hardship licence. Brisbane drivers who have had a licence suspended may be eligible to apply.
What is a special hardship order?
A special hardship order is a court order allowing a driver with a suspended licence to continue driving under a set of restricted conditions. It may be available to you if being unable to drive would cause you or your family hardship: for example, because you would lose your job if you can’t drive.
Who is eligible for a special hardship licence?
You may be eligible to apply for a special hardship licence in Brisbane if the licence suspension would:
- Cause you or your family extreme hardship by depriving you of your means of earning a living; or
- Cause you or your family severe and unusual hardship for another reason
For example:
- Your job may require you to drive a work vehicle
- You can only get to your place of employment by driving
- You are the primary carer for a family member, and you need to take them to medical appointments
- You are the primary carer for young children and need to drive them to school or tutoring
- You are a student, and you need your car to attend lectures
You must also hold a Queensland provisional or open driver licence. Those on learner licences are not eligible to apply.
The licence must have been suspended because you:
- Incurred 2 or more demerit points while driving under a period of good driving behaviour for one year; or
- Committed a high speed driving offence where you drove more than 40km per hour over the speed limit
If you have been convicted of a drink or drug driving offence, you can apply for a restricted licence, otherwise known as a ‘work’ licence. This is different from a special hardship licence.
Who is ineligible for a special hardship licence?
You are not eligible to apply if, in the past five years before the suspension:
- Your Queensland driver licence was cancelled or suspended
- You were disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence, or from driving in Queensland on a non-Queensland driver licence
- You were made ineligible to apply for a Queensland driver licence due to incurring excessive demerit points or being convicted of a high speed driving offence while unlicensed
- You were convicted of operating a vehicle dangerously
If you aren’t sure if you can apply for a special hardship order, seek legal advice. In some circumstances, a previous licence suspension does not prevent you from applying. These include suspensions or cancellations set aside on review as well as 24-hour and immediate licence suspensions relating to drink or drug driving.
How do I apply for a special hardship licence?
The application and supporting affidavit is made to the Magistrates Court. When you have lodged the application, provide a copy to the Department of Transport and Main Roads. You can then continue to drive while you are waiting for your application to be heard, but only after you have provided a copy that is stamped by the court to the Department of Transport.
Be prepared to show supporting evidence in support of your application. This is demonstrated through affidavit material. A lawyer can help you put this together and advise you on what documentation you will need. You will need to prove to the court:
- The purpose for which you need to continue driving (for example, work, study or medical obligations)
- Why there is no reasonable alternative such as public transport (for example, because you need to carry heavy tools to work, or because you live in a rural area which doesn’t have public transport during the hours you need it
- If you are claiming carer duties, why there is no other person who can drive the family member to school or medical appointments
- The consequences of not having the licence and why they would constitute hardship (for example, because you would lose your job and be unable to pay your bills, or because your family member’s health would suffer.)
- That you are a fit and proper person to continue to drive.
You may need to get a statutory declaration or affidavit from someone else in support of your claim. For example, an affidavit from your child’s tutor or family member’s specialist medical practitioner. You may also want to append public transport timetables if they show that you cannot reasonably use this option to attend your studies or your workplace or fulfil your carer responsibilities.
What happens if I get a special hardship licence?
If the order is granted, you will need to tame a copy of your order to the Department of Transport within 14 days. The licence will not become valid until it has been filed with the department of Transport. Read the conditions very carefully. Conditions for a special hardship licence in Brisbane may include:
- Restrictions on the hours and days on which you can drive
- Restrictions on whether you can carry passengers
- A requirement to fill out a logbook
- A requirement to wear your work uniform while driving
It is an offence to drive outside the special hardship licence conditions. If you are caught breaching the order, you will be disqualified from driving.