NSW law Court-town guides Drink driving

Port Macquarie Drink Driving Case Study: Mid Range (0.114), Third Offence, Still the 3-Month Minimum (NSW)

By Joshua Boorman, Principal, Boorman Lawyers · · 4:51 video

Jurisdiction
New South Wales
Court
Port Macquarie Local Court
Charges
Mid range PCA (0.114), third drink driving offence (last about 7 years earlier)
Outcome
Guilty plea. 3-month minimum disqualification (backdated to 9 December), $800 fine, 12-month alcohol interlock program.
Filmed
July 2023

Summary

A 30-year-old business owner on his third drink driving offence returned 0.114 after six beers. With evidence of a settled family life and his first traffic offender program, Port Macquarie Local Court imposed the backdated 3-month minimum, an $800 fine and the interlock.

Key takeaways

  • His last drink was 20 minutes before driving, which Joshua says would have spiked the reading.
  • The reading of 0.114 was roughly in the middle of the mid range.
  • It was his third offence, but the last was about 7 years earlier.
  • He completed a traffic offender program for the first time.
  • The court imposed the 3-month minimum (backdated), an $800 fine and 12 months on the interlock.

A mid range charge at Port Macquarie

In this Port Macquarie drink driving case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at Port Macquarie Local Court, in the coastal town about halfway between Sydney and Queensland, for a client charged with middle range drink driving.

What happened

Joshua describes the facts as pretty stock standard. After work the client went to a friend’s house and drank six beers between 4 pm and 9 pm. He thought he had spaced them out enough, but his last drink was only 20 minutes before he got in the car, which would have pushed his reading up.

He was driving a short distance home and planned to drop a friend off on the way, so he had a passenger. It was not his driving that drew police attention: an ordinary random breath testing unit waved him in. After a positive roadside test he was taken to Port Macquarie police station, where he returned 0.114, roughly the middle of the mid range.

A difficult record

What made the matter more serious was that this was his third drink driving offence, at just 30 years of age. Joshua says the saving grace was that the last one was about 7 years earlier.

Earlier in his adult life he also had criminal offences, including stealing, entering a dwelling and goods in custody, as well as several high range speeding offences.

A different person now

Joshua showed the court that over the past 7 years the client had settled down with his partner, started a business and had two children under 3. He stressed that this offence was not the start of a new pattern of reoffending.

Surprisingly, the client had never done a traffic offender program before. Joshua had him complete one, and it was a massive eye-opener. He took a lot from it and told Joshua he thought everyone should have to do it before getting a licence.

The outcome

  • the 3-month minimum disqualification, backdated to 9 December when he was first arrested, leaving about 3 weeks to serve;
  • the 12-month alcohol interlock program; and
  • an $800 fine.

No further penalties were imposed. Joshua describes a very happy and relieved client who can now focus on his job, his business and his young family.

What this Port Macquarie drink driving case study shows

A long gap since earlier offences, and evidence of real change, can carry significant weight. Here, the client’s settled life and his first experience of the traffic program supported the minimum penalty. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts and history.

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 penalty for a first mid range PCA offence as a fine of $2,200 and up to 9 months’ imprisonment (as at October 2026).
  • How repeat offences are treated: Transport for NSW says drivers convicted of 2 drink driving offences within a 5-year period must pass the Driver Knowledge Test before they can be licensed again.
  • 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.
  • 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 Port Macquarie Local Court, the NSW Traffic Offender Program and NSW alcohol interlock laws. Its NSW site covers drink driving matters across regional NSW.

On this site, see a Port Macquarie suspended driving case and a Boggabilla third-offence mid range case, or browse all NSW and drink driving videos.

For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s Port Macquarie page 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.)

Frequently asked questions

What penalty did the client receive?

The 3-month minimum disqualification (backdated to 9 December), an $800 fine and 12 months on the alcohol interlock program.

Why did the timing of his last drink matter?

Joshua explains that his last drink was only 20 minutes before he drove, which would have pushed his blood alcohol reading up.

How did his history affect the case?

It was his third drink driving offence, and he had earlier criminal and speeding matters. Joshua says the saving grace was that his last drink driving offence was about 7 years earlier.

What is a mandatory interlock order in NSW?

In general terms, it is an order made on conviction for certain drink driving offences, including mid range, high range and repeat offences. It combines a minimum licence disqualification with a later period (at least 12 months) of driving only a vehicle fitted with an alcohol interlock. Transport for NSW publishes the periods for each offence. This is general information only.

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).

Read the video transcript

I'm Josh Boorman here from Boorman Lawyers just outside Port Macquarie Local Court. Uh probably uh located about halfway between Sydney and Queensland. Um so a nice little uh seaside um coastal town here uh in New South Wales and I have appeared today on a mid-range drink driving offence. Um the facts of the matter were pretty stock standard. Um client had finished work um gone over to a friend's house. He'd consumed six beers between 4:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m. Thought he'd spaced the drinks out for a long enough period.

Um but uh unfortunately his last drink was only 20 minutes before getting into the car. So that would have spiked his blood alcohol concentration reading. He was driving home relatively short distance. He's going to drop a friend off on the way so he did have a passenger. Um but it wasn't his manner of driving that um brought him to the attention of police. It was just a normal random breath testing unit that waved him in. He um uh gave a positive reading. Uh he was then arrested and taken back to the Port Macquarie police station where he um delivered a final blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.114.

So probably in the middle of the mid-range category. Um I guess the thing that made this matter a lot more serious and worse for our client is the fact that it was his third drink driving offence. He's only 30 years of age um and his last one which was probably the saving grace for him was a little bit of time ago. It was about 7 years ago. But third drink drive um uh for a 30-year-old it's not a good traffic record. Um and then earlier in his adult life he had a number of criminal uh offences uh stealing enter dwelling.

Um uh What else was there? There was uh I think there was there was um goods in custody. So, and and and a number of high range speeding offences that were on his record too. So, it didn't make for a good record, but I did show the court that over the last 7 years he has settled down with his partner. He's started a business. He's now got two children, two children under the age of 3 years old. So, it's the time of his life where he's had to pull his head in and settle down, but unfortunately he's made this mistake in relation to this drink driving matter and he's back before the court again.

But, I did want to stress that this offence before the court today was not a case that would kick start a pattern of re-offending into the future. One thing that surprised me was the fact that he'd never previously done a Traffic Offenders Program. I got him along to do that and it was a massive eye-opener for him. He mentioned that he took a lot away from it and he believed that a lot of well, everyone should have to do it before being given a licence um before they can drive.

So, it obviously had an impact on him and I did mention to the court that obviously it was his first time and and it's only hoped that moving forward he'll take those lessons he's learned from that and um certainly act with greater responsibility when driving on the road. Um Our client today was very lucky. We pushed for and received the minimum disqualification of 3 months. That was backdated to the 9th of December when he was first arrested. So, he's only got about 3 weeks left to serve on his disqualification.

He's also going to have to do the 12-month interlock program, have an interlock device fitted into his car for 12 months. He's given an $800 fine Um and no further penalties were forthcoming. So very very happy and relieved client. He can move forward and focus on his job, his business and looking after his young family. Think it's the last time we'll see him before court today. Signing out here at Port Macquarie Local Court in New South Wales.

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.

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