NSW law Court-town guides Drink driving

Downing Centre Special Range PCA Case Study: PCA and Disqualified Driving, No Conviction, Fine or Disqualification (NSW)

Name: Downing Centre Special Range PCA Case Study: PCA and Disqualified Driving, No Conviction, Fine or Disqualification (NSW)
Uploaded: 2025-10-06T00:00:00+10:00
Duration: 9 min 52 s
Description: Joshua Boorman explains how a 22-year-old was disqualified in his absence at Cooma over a drug driving matter he never knew was listed, then caught two days later with a 0.027 reading. After the client gave evidence, the Downing Centre Local Court dismissed the disqualified driving charge and gave a conditional release order without conviction on the special range PCA.

By Joshua Boorman, Principal, Boorman Lawyers · 6 October 2025 · 9:52 video

Jurisdiction: New South Wales
Court: Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney
Charges: Special range PCA (0.027) and drive while disqualified — both second or subsequent offences
Outcome: Guilty pleas. Disqualified driving dismissed outright with no further penalty; special range PCA dealt with by a 12-month conditional release order without conviction. No fine, disqualification or interlock; about $370 court costs.
Filmed: October 2025

Summary

Joshua Boorman explains how a 22-year-old was disqualified in his absence at Cooma over a drug driving matter he never knew was listed, then caught two days later with a 0.027 reading. After the client gave evidence, the Downing Centre Local Court dismissed the disqualified driving charge and gave a conditional release order without conviction on the special range PCA.

Key takeaways

A court can deal with a matter in your absence; here a six-month disqualification was imposed at Cooma without the client knowing.
A disqualified driver's alcohol limit is zero, so a 0.027 reading led to a special range PCA charge.
The magistrate asked the client to give evidence about what police told him and what he believed about his licence.
The court accepted he answered honestly and found the circumstances very unusual.
Result: the disqualified driving charge dismissed, a 12-month CRO without conviction on the PCA, no fine, no disqualification, no interlock, and about $370 costs.

An unusual way to end up in court

In this Downing Centre special range PCA case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court in the Sydney CBD on two charges that are not unusual in themselves: special range PCA (drink driving) and driving while disqualified. What was unusual was how our client came to be charged. Both offences were treated as second or subsequent offences because he had prior convictions for major traffic offences within the last five years.

The earlier drug driving matter he never knew about

In November 2024 our client was pulled over and returned a positive roadside sample to cannabis. Police told him the secondary sample would be sent to the police laboratory and that he would find out if it was positive and whether he had to go to court.

He never heard anything. He never received notice that the result was positive, and he never received a court attendance notice. The matter was nevertheless listed at Cooma Local Court, in southern NSW, on 19 March. Because he did not know about it, he did not attend. It was dealt with in his absence, and he was disqualified for six months.

Two days later

On 21 March he went out for lunch and had two beers. As he left the venue he made an illegal turn, which gave police cause to pull him over. When they checked his licence, it quickly became apparent that it had been disqualified two days earlier.

Because he was disqualified, his legal alcohol limit was not 0.050 — it was zero. He was breath tested and recorded 0.027, a very low reading. Had his unrestricted licence still been valid, his limit would have been 0.050 and he would not have been charged with drink driving at all. He was charged with special range PCA and with driving while disqualified.

What counted against him

He was pulled over because he made an illegal turn.
His traffic record included two prior offences of driving with an illicit drug present.

Against that, the circumstances of how he came to be driving disqualified and over a zero limit were very strong mitigating circumstances, and they had to be explained clearly to the magistrate.

Into the witness box

In an unusual step for the Local Court, the magistrate asked our client to get into the witness box so Joshua could examine him. Joshua had told him beforehand that he probably would not need to speak, so he was very nervous. It is unusual for someone pleading guilty to give evidence, but the magistrate wanted to be satisfied about a few specific issues.

Our client told the court that, when he was stopped in November, police said he would be notified if he had to go to court; that he never received any notification; that on the day of this offence he genuinely believed his licence was current and active; and that, because of that, he believed his legal alcohol limit was 0.050. The magistrate was satisfied he answered honestly and took his evidence on board.

The outcome

Our client is a 22-year-old carpenter. He is still serving the six-month disqualification from the Cooma matter and is due back on the road in September. For the new charges, we asked the court to accept his guilty pleas but not to punish him further: no conviction, no disqualification, no fine and no interlock.

The magistrate agreed this was a very unusual case and thanked Joshua for taking the time to set out the facts. The court ordered:

for driving while disqualified: an outright dismissal with no further penalty; and
for special range PCA: a conditional release order without conviction, requiring 12 months’ good behaviour.

There was no fine, no further disqualification, no conviction recorded and no interlock. He does have to pay court costs of about $370. If he breaks the law in the next 12 months, the good behaviour order can be revoked and he can be resentenced on the special range PCA charge. (The section numbers Joshua mentions are not clear in the recording.)

What this Downing Centre special range PCA case study shows

Joshua is clear that, with this record and these facts, a much stiffer penalty would normally have been expected. The result came from the very unusual circumstances, explained carefully and supported by the client’s own honest evidence. It is also a reminder that a court can deal with a matter in your absence, and a disqualification takes effect even if you do not know about it. Every case is different.

Key general information (NSW)

General information only, not legal advice, as at October 2026. Every case turns on its own facts.

Drink driving (PCA) offences: In New South Wales most drink driving charges are “prescribed concentration of alcohol” (PCA) offences under the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).
The broad penalty picture: As one example, Transport for NSW lists the maximum court-imposed fine for a second or subsequent low, special or novice range offence as $3,300 (as at October 2026).
The Alcohol Interlock Program: According to Transport for NSW’s Alcohol Interlock Program page, drivers convicted of mid range, high range, repeat and other serious drink driving offences are required to take part.
Driving while disqualified: Transport for NSW also notes police can impound vehicles or confiscate number plates from drivers who keep driving unlicensed or disqualified.
Sentencing options: At the lower end, a court can find an offence proved but not record a conviction, either by dismissing the charge or by making a conditional release order (CRO) without conviction.

Frequently asked questions

Why was the client charged with drink driving at only 0.027?

Because his licence had been disqualified two days earlier, his legal alcohol limit was zero. With a valid unrestricted licence his limit would have been 0.050 and he would not have been charged with drink driving.

How was his licence disqualified without him knowing?

After a positive roadside test for cannabis in November 2024, he was told he would be notified if he had to go to court. He never received notice, the matter was listed at Cooma Local Court, and it was dealt with in his absence with a six-month disqualification.

What did the court do with the two charges?

The disqualified driving charge was dismissed outright with no further penalty. The special range PCA charge was dealt with by a conditional release order without conviction, requiring 12 months' good behaviour. He has to pay about $370 in court costs.

Is it usual to give evidence on a guilty plea in the Local Court?

Joshua says it is unusual. In this case the magistrate wanted to be satisfied about what the client was told by police and what he believed about his licence, so he was asked to get into the witness box.

What are the PCA ranges in NSW?

As at October 2026, Transport for NSW lists novice range (learner or provisional driver above zero), special range (special category drivers over 0.02), low range (0.05 to 0.079), mid range (0.08 to 0.149) and high range (0.15 and above).

What is a conditional release order?

A conditional release order (CRO) is a NSW sentencing option under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. It can be made with or without a conviction, and the NSW Sentencing Council notes it can last up to 2 years. Whether one is appropriate is a matter for the court in each case.

Read the video transcript

Okay, it's Josh here from Boorman Lawyers. I'm just out the outside the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney CBD. Uh, today I have appeared on quite an unusual type of matter. Um, the offences aren't unusual, but the way they came about and the way our client came to be charged uh were very unusual. Um so the charges before the court today were a special range PCA or drink driving [unclear] uh and a drive whilst uh licence was disqualified. So disqualified driving offence. Both offences were categorised as repeat second or subsequent offences.

So um that was because he has prior uh convictions uh on his history for major traffic offences in the last 5 years. So our client was basically how it all came about. He had gone to lunch on the 21st of March this year. Uh he was coming out of the venue where he just had lunch. He just consumed two beers over lunch and he did an illegal turn. So that gave uh police cause to pull him over and um they asked him for his licence and it quickly became apparent that his licence was disqualified.

Because he was on a disqualified licence, his blood alcohol threshold was not 0.050, it was zero. So he was breath tested and recorded a blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.027. So very low reading. If his licence was valid at the time on an unrestricted licence, it would have been 0.050 and he would not have been charged with the drink driving offence. However, the reason why his licence was disqualified or endorsed as disqualified in the first place is because literally 2 days prior to the event on the 19th of March, um our client had a drug driving matter at the Cooma local court um down in southern New South Wales.

Um now, uh the background to that offence was that he was pulled over in November 2024 last year. He recorded a registered a positive sample to cannabis. Police said that the secondary sample would be sent through to the police laboratory and he would find out um if it was positive or if he had to go to court. Um our client never found out. He was he never got notice that it was positive. He never got notice of a court attendance notice. However, um the matter was listed at the Cooma Magistrates or local court on the 19th of March, 2 days prior to this current offence before the court.

He did not appear because he wasn't aware of the matter before the court. If he had have known, he would have definitely attended. The matter was dealt with in his absence. He was given 6 months disqualification. Two days later on the 21st of March, as mentioned, gone to lunch, had two drinks, illegal turn, pulled over, and it quickly became apparent that two days prior his licence had been disqualified by court, and he was on a disqualified driver's licence. That gave him a zero alcohol threshold at 0.027.

He was also found to be uh in breach of the um alcohol traffic laws and was subsequently charged with the special range PCA and the disqualified driving. So a little bit of a background story to it. I mean and this sort of had to really be um explained clearly to the magistrate today. Um uh I mean the fact that he was pulled over for doing an illegal turn didn't assist him. The fact that on his traffic record he has two prior offences for um drive with illicit drug present that didn't assist him.

Um but uh the uh circumstances of how he came to be driving disqualified and with special range PCA um they were some very strong mitigating circumstances. Um quite unusual in the local court um the magistrate today um actually asked our client to get into the witness box so I could examine him and ask him some questions. uh surrounding his um what happened in relation to the drug test last year, what the police told him, um whether he received any notice, whether he knew his uh had a court date 2 days prior, and whether his licence was disqualified.

I also asked him what he thought at the time of driving, what his legal um threshold was for having alcohol in his system. So, he was very nervous. I I told him before we went in, he probably wouldn't have to speak today. Next thing you know, he's getting up in the witness box. He's giving evidence. So, he was very nervous and um it's usually uh unusual for a defendant who's pleading guilty to have to get into the witness box to give evidence in court in local court.

Um but the magistrate wanted to be satisfied uh of these particular issues. So he obviously told the court that um when he was pulled over uh in November last year uh positive for the drug test that the police told him he would be notified if he had to go to court. He explained to the court he never received any notification. Um he explained to the court that on the day of this offence occur he believed his licence genuinely believed his licence was active and current. Um and he also believed due to um that issue of him believing he had a current and active licence that his legal alcohol threshold was 0.050.

So the magistrate was very satisfied that he um answered these questions honestly and uh took that evidence um on board. Now um he's a carpenter. He's only 22 years of age. Um he's actually still disqualified for the offence which put him off the road 2 days prior to this disqualified driving and special PCA offence. So he's got a ride out 6 months of that particular offence which is the drug drive which took place last year. Um and he will be back on the road in September in relation to that.

However, in relation to the offences today, we were ultimately seeking that the court accept his plea guilty, but um really not further punish him, not convict him, not disqualify him, not fine him um and not impose any sort of interlocks or any um other penalties which uh are always at the court's disposal. Um the magistrate absolutely agreed this was a very unusual case. Um he thanked me for um really taking the time to bear out the the facts and the circumstances of how this matter came to be.

Um in relation to the disqualified drive, uh he gave our client what they call a section [unclear: '101A' in the captions, likely 10(1)(a)], which is an outright dismissal with no further penalties. in relation to the second charge of special range uh PCA driving. Um he gave our client a conditional release order uh under section [unclear: '91 91B' in the captions, likely 9(1)(b)] uh which is uh not recording a conviction, but he does have to be of good behaviour for the next 12 months. So, if he breaks the law again in the next 12 months, he'll be back before the court and he will have um uh the good behaviour bond will be revoked and he'll be resentenced on the special range drink driving offence.

Um so, as long as he can ride out this next period uh till September being off the road, um effectively today there were no other forthcoming penalties. Uh there's no fine, there was no disqualification, there was no um conviction recorded, uh no interlock. Uh he does have to pay court costs of um uh about $370 uh for the the two pleading guilty. So effectively a it was only due to the very unusual circumstances. Otherwise, I think with his record and the way it all came about, he would have been given a much stiffer penalty. but uh he was given a let off today and he was extremely grateful.

So that's wrapping up here at the Downing Centre Local Court in the middle of the Sydney CBD. A very good outcome, a very happy uh client today and um thanks for tuning in.

General information only, based on New South Wales law at the time of filming. Not legal advice — every case turns on its own facts. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes.