Queensland Consolidated Acts Queensland Consolidated Acts(1) A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a road unless the person holds a driver licence authorising the person to drive the vehicle on the road.
Maximum penalty--
(a) if the person committed the offence while the person was disqualified, by any court order, from holding or obtaining a driver licence--60 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment; or
(b) otherwise--40 penalty units or 1 year's imprisonment.
(1A) An infringement notice under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 may be issued to a person for a contravention of subsection (1) only if--
(a) the person is an unlicensed driver for the motor vehicle driven by the person; and
(b) the person has not, in the 5 years before the contravention, been convicted of an offence against subsection (1).
(2) If a person commits an offence against subsection (1) when the person is a disqualified driver, or is a repeat unlicensed driver for the offence, the court, in deciding what penalty to impose on the person, must consider--
(a) all the circumstances of the case, including circumstances of aggravation or mitigation; and
(b) the public interest; and
(c) the person's criminal history and traffic history; and
(d) any information before it relating to the person's medical history, or the person's mental or physical capacity, that the court considers relevant; and
(e) whether the offence was committed in association with the commission or attempted commission of another offence and, if so, the nature of the other offence; and
(f) any other matters that the court considers relevant.
(3) If the court convicts a person of an offence against subsection (1) and any of the following circumstances apply, the court, in addition to imposing a penalty, must disqualify the person from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence for the period mentioned in relation to the circumstance--
(a) if the person committed the offence while the person was disqualified, by any court order, from holding or obtaining a driver licence--for a period, of at least 2 years but not more than 5 years, decided by the court;
(b) if the person committed the offence while the person was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence because of the allocation of demerit points--6 months;
Editor's note--
See section 127(4)(b) for the effect of a suspension because of the allocation of demerit points under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Driver Licensing) Regulation 1999.
(c) if the person committed the offence while the person's authority to drive on a Queensland road under a non-Queensland driver licence was suspended because of the allocation of demerit points--6 months;
(d) if the person committed the offence while the person was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence because the person had been convicted of an offence against the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999, section 20, for driving more than 40km/h over the speed limit--6 months;
Editor's note--
Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999--see the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 2009, section 356.
(e) if the person committed the offence while the person's authority to drive on a Queensland road under a non-Queensland driver licence was suspended because the person had been convicted of an offence against the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999, section 20, for driving more than 40km/h over the speed limit--6 months;
Editor's note--
Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999--see the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 2009, section 356.
(f) if the person committed the offence while the person's driver licence was suspended under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999--a period, of at least 1 month but not more than 6 months, decided by the court;
(g) if the person committed the offence while the person's authority to drive on a Queensland road under a non-Queensland driver licence was suspended under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999--a period, of at least 1 month but not more than 6 months, decided by the court;
(h) if the person committed the offence while the person was a repeat unlicensed driver for the offence--a period, of at least 1 month but not more than 6 months, decided by the court;
(i) if the person committed the offence while, under section 79B--
(i) the person's Queensland driver licence was suspended; or
(ii) the person's authority to drive on a Queensland road under a non-Queensland driver licence was suspended; or
(iii) the person was disqualified from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver licence;
for a period, of at least 2 years but not more than 5 years, decided by the court.
(3A) For subsection (3), if the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a) and another paragraph of the subsection exist, the court must apply paragraph (a).
(4) Subsection (3) applies whether or not a conviction is recorded for the offence.
(5) A person must not allow another person to drive a motor vehicle on a road if the person knows the other person does not hold a driver licence authorising the other person to drive the vehicle on the road.
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.
(6) In this section--
any court order means an order of any Australian court.
disqualified driver means a person--
(a) who is disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence because of any court order; or
(b) who is disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence because--
(i) of the allocation of demerit points; or
(ii) the person was convicted of an offence against the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999, section 20, for driving more than 40km/h over the speed limit; or
Editor's note--
Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999--see the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 2009, section 356.
(iii) the person's driver licence is suspended under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999; or
(c) whose authority to drive on a Queensland road under the person's non-Queensland driver licence is suspended--
(i) because of the allocation of demerit points; or
(ii) because the person was convicted of an offence against the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999, section 20, for driving more than 40km/h over the speed limit; or
Editor's note--
Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 1999--see the Transport Operations (Road Use Management--Road Rules) Regulation 2009, section 356.
(iii) under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999.
repeat unlicensed driver, for an offence, means a person who--
(a) is an unlicensed driver for the motor vehicle driven by the person when the offence is committed; and
(b) has, in the 5 years before committing the offence, been convicted of an offence against subsection (1).
unlicensed driver, for a motor vehicle, means a person, other than a disqualified driver, who does not hold a driver licence authorising the person to drive the vehicle on the road.