QLD law Court-town guides Drink driving

Goondiwindi Drink Driving Case Study: Middle Range, Working Visa Holder Gets the 3-Month Minimum and No Conviction (QLD)

Name: Goondiwindi Drink Driving Case Study: Middle Range, Working Visa Holder Gets the 3-Month Minimum and No Conviction (QLD)
Uploaded: 2024-08-01T00:00:00+10:00
Duration: 4 min 49 s
Description: A Canadian working visa holder drove to pick up a pizza after drinks and was stopped on a roundabout in Goondiwindi. With a clean record since 2018, the Traffic Offenders Program and his migration plans at stake, the court imposed the 3-month minimum, a $650 fine and no conviction.

By Joshua Boorman, Principal, Boorman Lawyers · 1 August 2024 · 4:49 video

Jurisdiction: Queensland
Court: Goondiwindi Magistrates Court
Charges: Middle range drink driving (reading unclear in captions, likely 0.117), first offence
Outcome: Guilty plea. 3-month minimum disqualification, $650 fine, no conviction recorded (section 12 application).
Filmed: August 2024

Summary

A Canadian working visa holder drove to pick up a pizza after drinks and was stopped on a roundabout in Goondiwindi. With a clean record since 2018, the Traffic Offenders Program and his migration plans at stake, the court imposed the 3-month minimum, a $650 fine and no conviction.

Key takeaways

The reading was in the middle range (unclear in the captions, likely 0.117).
The client, a Canadian on a working visa, had a clean record in Australia since about 2018.
Joshua made a section 12 application for no conviction, pointing to his migration aspirations.
The court imposed the 3-month minimum and a $650 fine and did not record a conviction.
The magistrate gave a stern warning about the risk to the community.

A first offence in the middle range

In this Goondiwindi drink driving case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at Goondiwindi Magistrates Court on a middle range drink driving charge. The reading is unclear in the captions (it appears to be 0.117), and nothing about the matter was significantly aggravated.

Our client is a 29-year-old Canadian national who has been in Australia for a few years, working and travelling on a working visa.

What happened

He had spent the day at the McIntyre River with friends and had a couple of drinks around lunchtime. Back home in Goondiwindi at about 5 pm, he had two full-strength beers between about 5 and 7 pm.

Without thinking, he decided to drive to pick up dinner from Porky’s Pizza down the road. Police saw him driving a little quickly on a roundabout, which gave them cause to pull him over. He admitted to having had some drinks, and the breath test was positive.

About our client

He had absolutely nothing on his traffic or criminal record since arriving in Australia in about 2018.
He hopes to navigate the migration process in Australia, and a conviction could cause problems with that.

Goondiwindi drink driving case study: how Joshua Boorman presented the case

His clean record allowed Joshua to submit that this behaviour was foreign to him and out of character. He completed the Traffic Offenders Program, provided a strong letter of support and wrote a heartfelt apology.

Joshua sought minimum outcomes because of the lack of aggravating features, the clean history and the reading being towards the lower end of the middle range. He also applied under section 12 for no conviction to be recorded, because the objective seriousness was lower on the scale, the record was clean, and a conviction could affect his migration plans.

The outcome

the 3-month minimum disqualification;
a $650 fine; and
no conviction recorded.

The magistrate also gave him a stern warning about the risk he took that night and the potential risk to others in the community. Joshua says the warning was taken well.

Looking ahead

Joshua believes our client has learned a massive lesson. As a first offence, with a clean record and genuine remorse shown through the Traffic Offenders Program and his apology, Joshua thinks it is extremely unlikely he will make the same mistake again. He can now serve his three months off the road and move on with his life.

What this case shows

For people whose plans depend on their record, such as visa holders, whether a conviction is recorded can matter as much as the disqualification. Here, the court had a clear basis under section 12 to decline to record one. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts.

Key general information (QLD)

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

Drink driving offences: In Queensland, drink driving offences are set out in the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld).
The broad penalty picture: For a first offence at 0.10 or more but under 0.15, TMR lists a licence disqualification of 3 to 12 months, a maximum fine of $4,835 and a maximum of 6 months’ imprisonment (as at October 2026; TMR notes fines rose by 3.5% on 1 July 2026).
Alcohol interlocks: According to TMR, the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Program applies to people convicted of “high-risk” drink driving offences.
Sentencing and convictions: Alongside the disqualification set under the road transport laws, the general sentencing law in Queensland is the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld).
The court process: Drink and drug driving charges in Queensland are dealt with in the Magistrates Court.

Frequently asked questions

What penalty did the client receive?

The 3-month minimum disqualification, a $650 fine and no conviction recorded.

Why did the visa matter?

Joshua explains that the client hopes to go through the migration process in Australia, and that recording a conviction could cause problems with that. This was part of the section 12 application.

What does section 12 cover?

Section 12 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) deals with whether a court records a conviction. The court considers all the circumstances, including the nature of the offence, the person’s character and age, and the impact a conviction would have on their economic or social wellbeing or chances of finding employment.

What are the penalties for middle range drink driving in Queensland?

For a first offence at 0.10 or more but under 0.15, TMR lists a disqualification of 3 to 12 months, a maximum fine of $4,835 and up to 6 months’ imprisonment (as at October 2026).

Who has to do the interlock program in Queensland?

According to TMR, people convicted of high-risk drink driving offences, which include driving at 0.10 or more, driving under the influence, failing to provide a specimen, dangerous driving while affected by alcohol, and two or more drink driving offences within five years.

Read the video transcript

Good day it's Josh Boorman from Boorman Lawyers I'm just here at Goondiwindi Magistrates Court today uh I've appeared on a middle range drink driving offence the reading was [unclear: '.17' in the captions] um and there was nothing significantly aggravated about the matter um it was uh our client today was a 29-year-old a Canadian national he's been here for a few years working and travelling on a working Visa um on the day of the offence he'd um he'd been down to the McIntyre River with some friends he had a couple of drinks around lunchtime uh he returned back to where he lives in Goondiwindi here

Uh about 5:00 p.m. and uh had uh [unclear] two full strength beers between about 5: to 7:00 p.m. and without thinking he's unfortunately made a poor decision to call for some dinner at Porky's Pizza down the road and um without thinking he's jumped in the car to go and picked the picked the dinner up uh on the way there he was um seen by police probably driving a little quick on the roundabout but they they gave him police cause to pull him over

Uh asked him some questions and he um he then uh turned around and admitted to having uh consumed some drinks earlier that day and that night they breath tested him positive reading in the final BAC reading [unclear: '1117' in the captions, likely 0.117] as mentioned nothing significantly aggravated about the matter he's got absolutely nothing on his traffic or criminal record since being in Australia since about 2018 so that that good clean record allowed me to submit to the court that this type of behaviour was very foreign to him very out of character

Um now that he' completed the Traffic Offenders Program um and being a first offence and showing genuine uh remorse over the matter it's extremely unlikely that he will ever make the same mistake again and um have to appear back before the court system um S as mentioned did the Traffic Offenders Program we got a good uh a letter a strong letter of support he he wrote a very heartfelt apology letter to the court um we were chasing minimum outcomes today uh mitigating

Uh his um his outcome um due to the lack of aggravation and clean history and the reading being towards the lower end of the middle range category um we were asking the court to consider the minimum disqualification of 3 months uh that was uh agreed to by the magistrate um an appropriate fine uh of $650 was also given um and we did make an application for section 12 no no conviction order due to the fact that the objective seriousness was lower on the

Scale of offending certainly there are more serious drink driving cases which come before the court and which I deal with um but also because of his clean record and importantly the fact that he has aspirations of navigating his way through the migration migration process here in Australia um any recording of a conviction could uh cause some um problems with that process so magistrate agreed on this occasion not to record a conviction so our client was extremely happy about that

So uh moving forward I think uh he's learned a massive lesson he can move on with his life 3 months off the road he was given a Stern Warning by the magistrate that you know um uh he should have known that uh he was running a big risk on the night um and um also outline sort of what the potential risk could have been um for other people in the community on that night so the uh the warning

Was taken well by my client and um I think massive lessons have been learned very unlikely um we'll see him back before the court system again thanks for tuning in here at uh the wonderful and windy Goondiwindi.

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