New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

ROAD TRANSPORT (GENERAL) REGULATION 2005 - REG 18

18 Appeals concerning driver licensing

(1) An affected person may appeal to the Local Court against any of the following decisions of the Authority:

(a) a decision not to take into account, under clause 41 (3) of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 , some or all of the period the person has held a licence to drive a motor vehicle in an external Territory or another country,

(b) a decision not to grant an application for the issue, variation or renewal of a driver licence under the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 , not being a decision made under clause 46 (2) (d) of that Regulation,

(c) a decision to suspend or cancel the person’s driver licence under section 33 of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 ,

(c1) a decision to give the person a notice of licence suspension under section 17B (1), or a notice of licence ineligibility under section 17C (1), of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 ,

(d) a decision to vary the person’s driver licence under clause 47 or 55 of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 ,

(e) a decision to suspend or cancel the person’s driver licence under clause 24, 29 or 55 of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 .

(2) Despite subclause (1) (c)-(e), an affected person may not appeal to the Local Court against a decision of the Authority to cancel the person’s interlock driver licence under the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 .

(3) An affected person may appeal to the Local Court against a decision of the Authority, based on an opinion formed by the Authority under clause 99 (4) (f) or (g) of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2008 , that the person has ceased to be exempt from the requirements of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 and that Regulation.

(4) Despite any other provision of this clause, an appeal under this clause does not permit review of:

(a) the guilt or innocence of the person concerned, or

(b) the imposition of a penalty or the level of a penalty imposed on the person concerned.

Note: The effect of this provision is that, for example, in an appeal against a suspension or cancellation action taken under section 17 of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 against the holder of a provisional driver licence because of demerit points, the Local Court cannot revisit the issue of an offence in relation to which the demerit points were incurred or the imposition of a penalty in relation to such an offence. In any such case, the Local Court may exercise only the powers that the Authority could exercise under section 17 of that Act (see clause 20 (4)).

(5) Notice of any such appeal specifying the grounds of the appeal must be lodged with the Local Court not later than 28 days after the date on which the appellant was notified pursuant to clause 17.

(6) The relevant registrar of the Local Court must give notice of the time and place of the hearing of any such appeal to the Authority and to the appellant, and in the notice to the Authority must inform the Authority of the grounds of appeal.

(7) The hearing of the appeal may proceed despite any omission or error in a notice under subclause (6), or the failure to give any such notice, if the Court is satisfied that the appellant and the Authority had knowledge of the time and place of the hearing and were not prejudiced by any such omission or error or by the failure to give any such notice.