By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 10 April 2026.
Key points
- After a reading of 0.08 or more, police may hand you a disqualification notice on the spot. It takes you off the road for 2 months, and is revoked if you are not charged within 1 month.
- A first offence between 0.05 and 0.08 is usually a $1,000 infringement notice and 3 to 5 demerit points. At 0.08 or more you are charged and go to the Magistrates Court.
- The court must disqualify you for at least the minimum period set for your reading and record, and cannot reduce it for your circumstances: at least 6 months for a first offence at 0.08, and at least 10 months at 0.15 or more.
- The Act sets no jail term for any first drink driving offence. Jail is possible for a second or later offence of driving under the influence or refusing a test.
- You can ask the Magistrates Court for an extraordinary licence to drive for work, from 21 days after the disqualification in the ordinary case.
- Driving under the influence (0.15 or more), refusing a breath analysis or blood test, or a repeat offence within 5 years brings the alcohol interlock.
- For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a Western Australian lawyer for a fixed $295.
In Western Australia, a person charged with drink driving at 0.08 or more goes to the Magistrates Court, where the court must disqualify them for at least the minimum period the Road Traffic Act 1974 sets for their reading and record, starting at 6 months for a first offence.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against the Road Traffic Act 1974, the Road Traffic (Authorisation to Drive) Act 2008 and Regulations 2014, the Road Traffic (Administration) Regulations 2014, the Road Safety Commission, the Department of Transport and the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. Every reading, first, second and third offence, is in the full table of WA drink driving penalties.
What happens, step by step
- The test. Police may require any driver to take a preliminary breath test at the roadside. If it shows alcohol over your limit, they can require a breath sample for analysis or a blood sample. Refusing the roadside test is an offence; refusing the breath analysis or a blood test carries heavier penalties than most readings.
- The infringement notice or the charge. A first offence between 0.05 and 0.08, or any alcohol below 0.02 for a learner or P-plater, is usually dealt with by an infringement notice: a fine and demerit points, with no court. Otherwise police charge you, and your paperwork gives the date of your first appearance in the Magistrates Court.
- The disqualification notice. For 0.08 or more, driving under the influence or refusing a test, police may give you a notice in person within 10 days. You are disqualified from the moment you receive it until 2 months later. It is revoked if you are not charged within 1 month or the charge is dropped, and it ends if you are acquitted.
- Court. You plead guilty or not guilty. On a conviction the court sets the fine within the range for your reading and record, and must disqualify you for at least the minimum period. It may order longer. Any time served under a police notice comes off the minimum.
- After court. A full licence is usually suspended for the disqualification. A provisional licence is cancelled, and so is any licence or learner's permit after an interlock offence. You can apply for an extraordinary licence once the waiting period has passed, and if the offence is an interlock offence, any licence you are granted later carries the interlock condition.
The minimum penalties for a first offence
| Reading | Fine | Minimum disqualification |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05 to under 0.08 (infringement notice) | $1,000 and 3 to 5 demerit points | None |
| 0.05 to under 0.08 (in court) | Up to $1,250 | At the court's discretion |
| 0.08 to under 0.09 | $750 to $2,250 | 6 months |
| 0.09 to under 0.11 | $850 to $2,250 | 7 months |
| 0.11 to under 0.13 | $1,000 to $2,250 | 8 months |
| 0.13 to under 0.15 | $1,150 to $2,250 | 9 months |
| 0.15 or more (driving under the influence) | $1,700 to $3,750 | 10 months, plus the alcohol interlock |
| Refusing a breath analysis or blood test | $2,050 to $5,650 | 15 months, plus the alcohol interlock |
Learners, P-platers and anyone licensed for less than 2 years must have zero alcohol: below 0.02 is a $400 infringement and 3 demerit points, and 0.02 to under 0.05 means court, a fine of $400 to $750 and at least 3 months' disqualification. There is no time limit: an earlier offence at 0.08 or more, of driving under the influence or of refusing a test counts towards a new charge however long ago it was, and second and later offences carry much longer minimums, set out in the full table.
What to do now
- Do not drive while a disqualification notice or a court disqualification is in force; that is a further offence.
- Keep your paperwork: the infringement notice or the court papers with your first court date, and any disqualification notice with the date you received it.
- If you need to drive for work or medical reasons, work out when your extraordinary licence waiting period ends, and gather the evidence of your need.
- Get advice before your first court date. Call 1800 577 015 at any hour, or request a $295 consultation with a Western Australian lawyer.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in Western Australia is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person. Go To Court Lawyers does not have a Perth office; the lawyers in our network appear in Western Australian courts in person. The lawyer can check whether the testing and any notice were done correctly, advise on your plea, present your circumstances on the fine and any period above the minimum, and prepare an extraordinary licence application.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 22 October 2026. Checked against the Road Traffic Act 1974, the Road Traffic (Authorisation to Drive) Act 2008 and Regulations 2014, the Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008 and Regulations 2014, the Road Safety Commission, the Department of Transport and the Magistrates Court of Western Australia on 22 October 2026.