A next-day offence heard at Sutherland
In this Sutherland drink driving case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at Sutherland Local Court, in the Shire south of Sydney, on a middle range drink driving offence with a reading of 0.103. He explains that there were a number of facts in the client’s favour that were pressed to persuade the court not to record a conviction, while noting that it does not always work out this way. Every case and every set of facts is different.
New Year’s Eve in the country
The client had attended a ball or event at Wombat, in rural western New South Wales. He started drinking at about lunchtime on New Year’s Eve, drank quite heavily, had his last drink at about 11.30 pm, stayed up for midnight and went to bed at about 12.30 am.
He woke at 7 am, did not feel hungover or intoxicated, and drove to the nearest town, Harden, about 15 minutes away, to get breakfast and coffees. At 8 am on New Year’s Day he was pulled over for a random breath test.
The objective facts
He was not stopped because of his driving. He was in a wide-open rural area with very little traffic, which reduced the risk to others. He was polite and cooperative with police.
Joshua is clear, though, that a reading of 0.103 is comfortably within the middle range and, as he puts it, nothing to be sneezed at.
A serving member of the Defence Force
The client had been serving in the Australian Defence Force for 9 years. The material handed up included:
- a character reference from an officer in the Defence Force, which also explained how a conviction could cause problems for his career;
- letters from his mother, his sister and a friend, all going to his good character; and
- his completion of the Traffic Offenders Program, for which the court gave him credit.
He was first licensed about 16 years earlier and had five minor traffic infringements, mostly low-level speeding under 10 km/h over the limit. Joshua submitted that this was a very good record, with nothing of a similar nature.
The outcome
Joshua asked for a conditional release order without conviction. The magistrate agreed, but only just. Joshua says it was clear that, for most cases at 0.103, the magistrate would not deal with the matter by way of a CRO. What tipped the balance was that nothing aggravated the offence, it was a next-day offence, the client had done the traffic program, there was evidence of how a conviction could affect his career, and he had a very good traffic record.
He received a conditional release order for 6 months without conviction. If he is of good behaviour for those 6 months, no conviction will be recorded.
What this Sutherland drink driving case study shows
Next-day drinking can still produce a mid range reading hours after the last drink. When a court considers a no-conviction outcome for a reading like this, the combination of factors matters, and here the magistrate made clear it was a finely balanced decision. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts.
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).
- Conditional release orders: The NSW Sentencing Council explains that a conditional release order (CRO) can be made with or without recording a conviction.
- Other low-end sentencing options: If an offence is not trivial enough to be dismissed under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, but there are other good reasons not to impose a penalty, the court can convict the person without any other penalty under section 10A.
- The court process: Drink and drug driving charges in NSW are usually dealt with in the Local Court.
Further reading and related videos
Boorman Lawyers has more on appearing at Sutherland Local Court, no-conviction outcomes for drink driving in NSW and NSW drink driving penalties. Its Sydney site covers drink driving matters across Sydney courts.
On this site, see a Blacktown mid range case that ended with a CRO and a Finley case that ended with a CRO, or browse all NSW and drink driving videos.
For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s guide to drink and drug driving charges at Sutherland 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.)
