Penrith mid range PCA case study: a mid range charge at Penrith
In this Penrith mid range PCA case study, Boorman Lawyers appeared at Penrith Local Court in far western Sydney on a mid range drink driving offence. The reading was 0.082, which Joshua Boorman describes as having just slipped inside the mid range category.
What happened
The client had been at his brother’s birthday party, where he drank about six full-strength beers over about four and a half hours. He tried to count his drinks and self-assessed his sobriety, and he waited about an hour after his last drink before getting into the car to take his sister home.
On the way, he got a bit lost and performed an illegal U-turn at an intersection. Police saw it, pulled him over down the street and breath tested him. The final reading was 0.082, and he was charged with a mid range drink driving offence in NSW.
The hardship of being off the road
The client works as a forklift driver and storeman and has to be at work at 5 am. He has a de facto partner and a six-year-old son. He had been off the road for the six weeks since the offence, spending about $30 a day on taxis and Ubers to get to work, and the same to get home: anywhere between $150 and $300 a week.
His partner works but usually finishes at about 1.30 pm and would normally pick up their son from school, which he had not been able to do. Josh says this caused significant financial hardship and was logistically difficult for the family.
A bold request
Josh describes the request to the court as bold. Boorman Lawyers asked the court not to record a conviction, not to disqualify him, and not to place him on the mandatory alcohol interlock program, but instead to put him on a conditional release order, which our lawyer describes as basically a good behaviour bond, for two years.
It was a big ask, especially for a mid range offence and given that his traffic record was not good. Over the previous 10 years or so he had a smattering of more minor traffic infringements, and about 10 or 11 years earlier he had been declared a habitual traffic [unclear] because of repeated disqualified driving offences, which Josh notes are serious. Over time he had grown up and his record had improved, but his past was still on his record.
What counted in his favour
Josh stressed the financial and logistical hardship that being off the road had caused the family, and says the fact that the reading had only just crept into the mid range category was his saving grace. The client had also completed a Traffic Offenders Program, had references from his partner and his mother-in-law, and wrote a strong letter of apology to the court showing genuine remorse.
The outcome
The court acceded to the request and dealt with the matter by way of a conditional release order without proceeding to conviction. He was effectively not convicted, can start driving straight away, is not on any interlock program, and received no fine for the drink driving offence. He did receive a $250 fine for the illegal U-turn.
Our lawyer describes the client as extremely happy and very lucky, and says he can now move forward and learn from the experience. Every case is different, and this outcome does not predict the result in any other matter.
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: The “automatic” period is the period that applies unless the court makes a specific order, and the “minimum” period is the shortest period the court can set.
- The Alcohol Interlock Program: A zero alcohol limit applies to all interlock drivers, and a person who receives an interlock order but does not enter the program is disqualified for 5 years.
- Conditional release orders: The NSW Sentencing Council explains that a conditional release order (CRO) can be made with or without recording a conviction.
- Intervention programs and deferred sentencing: Fines in NSW are expressed in penalty units, and the Sentencing Council notes that a penalty unit is currently $110.
Further reading and related videos
Boorman Lawyers has more on appearing at Penrith, avoiding a conviction for drink driving in NSW and the NSW alcohol interlock program. Its NSW DUI site covers drink driving matters across NSW.
On this site, see a Mt Druitt mid range case, a Katoomba mid range case dealt with by a CRO and a Bankstown first-time mid range case, or browse all NSW and court town videos.
For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s guide to drink and drug driving charges at Penrith covers the local court and plea process. (DIY DUI is a self-help program for people preparing their own guilty plea. It is not legal representation and is not part of Boorman Lawyers.)
