Work licence eligibility in Queensland

Run the seven questions in order

Answer these honestly. A no at any point ends the enquiry.

1. Was your reading under 0.15? At 0.15 or above you are conclusively presumed to have been under the influence under section 79(3), and a driving under the influence conviction is expressly excluded from section 87.
2. Did you hold a Queensland open licence for that class of vehicle at the time? Learner, provisional and probationary licence holders cannot apply. Neither can holders of an interstate or overseas licence.
3. Do you still hold a current Queensland open licence? Renew it before court if it has expired.
4. Were you driving for your job at the time? If the offence was committed while you were engaged in an activity directly connected with earning your livelihood, you are excluded.
5. In the last 5 years, has your licence been suspended, cancelled or disqualified? Any of these, including a SPER suspension and a previous hardship order, ends the application.
6. In the last 5 years, have you been convicted of drink driving, drug driving, or dangerous driving? This includes equivalent convictions in other states.

Which charges qualify and which do not

If your charge is in the "no" column, a work licence is not available and no lawyer can change that. Where a suspension for demerit points or a high speed offence is the problem instead, look at a special hardship order.

The timing rule that catches people out

Section 87 requires the application to be made in the proceeding in which you are convicted, and before the court makes the disqualification order.

In practice, that means you must raise it at the sentencing hearing with the material already prepared. There is no post-sentence application, no cooling off period and no way back once the order is made.

The most common call we get on this topic starts with "I pleaded guilty last week and now I have found out about work licences". At that point there is nothing to do.

If you are eligible, what happens next

1. Get your Queensland traffic history and check the five year lookback yourself. Old interstate matters and forgotten SPER suspensions are the usual surprises.
2. Draft your affidavit and, if you are employed, your employer’s affidavit. Both must address the statutory test rather than simply asking for sympathy.
3. Decide what driving you actually need. Ask for the minimum that keeps your income intact.
4. File the application and have it heard before the disqualification is imposed. The mechanics are set out on our section 87 application page.

If you want the eligibility test run properly against your traffic history, call 07 5522 5777. We will tell you if you are not eligible rather than take the file.