South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts81BC—Disqualification for certain offences relating to section 45C
of the " " Road Traffic Act 1961
(1) This section
applies to the following offences:
(a) an
alleged offence against section 45C of the Road Traffic Act 1961 ;
(b) an
alleged offence against section 79B of the Road Traffic Act 1961
constituted of being the owner of a vehicle that appears from evidence
obtained through the operation of a photographic detection device to have been
involved in the commission of an offence against section 45C(1) of
that Act (a " section 79B offence").
(2) Subject to this
section, if a person expiates an offence to which this section applies, the
Registrar must, on becoming aware of that fact, give the person written notice
that—
(a) the
person is disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence or learner's permit
for the relevant period; and
(b) if
the person holds a licence or learner's permit when the notice takes
effect—the licence or permit is suspended for the relevant period.
(3)
Subsection (2) does not apply—
(a)
if—
(i)
a section 45D notice has been given to the person in
relation to the offence referred to in subsection (2); or
(ii)
in the case of an alleged offence against
section 45C—no such notice has been given to the person but the
Commissioner of Police has forwarded to the Registrar a request in writing
that no notice be given to the person by the Registrar under
subsection (2); or
(ab) if
the information available to the Registrar at the time indicates that the
alleged offence is not a second or subsequent offence; or
(b) in
such other circumstances as may be prescribed by regulation.
(a) a
person expiates an offence to which this section applies (the
"later offence"); and
(b) the
information available to the Registrar at the time the Registrar becomes aware
of that expiation indicates that it is not a second or subsequent offence; and
(c)
the Registrar subsequently becomes aware that the person has been convicted of
or has expiated another offence to which this section applies (the
"previous offence") that was committed or allegedly committed before the
later offence; and
(d) the
person would have received a notice under subsection (2) in respect of
the later offence if the person had been convicted of or expiated the
previous offence before they expiated the later offence (and if such
information had been available to the Registrar at the time the Registrar
became aware of the expiation of the later offence),
the Registrar must, on becoming aware of those circumstances, give the person
a notice under subsection (2) in respect of the later offence.
(3b) The regulations
may prescribe circumstances in which subsection (3a) will not apply or
may modify the operation of subsection (3a) in prescribed circumstances.
(4) Subsections (9),
(10), (11) and (12) of section 45D of the Road Traffic Act 1961 apply to
the withdrawal of a notice given under subsection (2) and for that
purpose a reference in those provisions to a section 45D notice will be taken
to be a reference to a notice under subsection (2) and a reference to the
Commissioner of Police will be taken to be a reference to the Registrar.
(5) If a person
expiates an offence to which this section applies and a notice is given under
subsection (2) but the expiation notice in respect of that offence is
subsequently withdrawn, sections 45D(6), (7) and (8) and 45E of the
Road Traffic Act 1961 apply in relation to the notice under
subsection (2), and for that purpose a reference in those provisions to a
section 45D notice will be taken to be a reference to a notice under
subsection (2) and a reference to the Commissioner of Police in section
45E will be taken to include a reference to the Registrar.
(6) Part 3E does not
apply to a decision of the Registrar under this section.
(7) For the purposes
of this section, the "relevant period" for which a person is disqualified from
holding or obtaining a licence or learner's permit, or for which a licence or
learner's permit held by the person is suspended, by written notice under
subsection (2)—
(a)
commences at the time the notice takes effect in accordance with
section 139BD; and
(b)
ends—
(i)
if the person given the notice under subsection (2)
is notified in accordance with subsection (4) that the notice has been
withdrawn; or
(ii)
if the expiation notice for the offence to which the
notice under subsection (2) relates is withdrawn and the person given the
notice under subsection (2) is notified in writing by or on behalf of the
Commissioner of Police (whether that notification is given personally or by
post) that the person—
(A) is not to be charged with any offence
to which this section applies arising out of the course of conduct to which
the notice under subsection (2) relates; and
(B) is not to be given an expiation notice
in respect of such an offence; or
(iii)
in any event, at the end of 6 months from the
commencement of the relevant period, less any period of disqualification or
suspension that has applied, or is applicable, to the person under
section 45D of the Road Traffic Act 1961 in respect of the offence
to which the notice under this section relates.
(8) In determining
whether an offence to which this section applies is a second or subsequent
offence for the purposes of this section—
(a) in
the case of an offence against section 45C, any previous offence against
section 45C for which the person has been convicted or that the person
has expiated will be taken into account; and
(b) in
the case of a section 79B offence, any previous section 79B offence for
which the person has been convicted or that the person has expiated will be
taken into account,
but only if the previous offence was committed or, in the case of an offence
that has been expiated, was alleged to have been committed, by the person
within the period of 5 years immediately preceding the date on which the
offence under consideration was committed.
(8a) If a person
expiates more than 1 offence to which this section applies at the same
time, the person will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to have
expiated the offences sequentially in the order in which the offences were
allegedly committed (and the offences may be dealt with under this section
accordingly as if the Registrar had become aware of the expiations in that
order).
(8b) For the avoidance
of doubt, a person may be given a notice under this section in relation to a
second or subsequent offence regardless of whether or not the person had been
convicted of or expiated the previous offence or offences at the time of
commission of the second or subsequent offence.
(9) In this
section—
"section 45D notice" means a notice of licence disqualification or suspension
under section 45D of the Road Traffic Act 1961 .