Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) A person commits
an offence if —
(a) the
person drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle while —
(i)
a prescribed illicit drug is present in the
person’s oral fluid or blood; and
(ii)
the person has any blood alcohol content;
and
(b)
either —
(i)
section 64A(1) applies to the person; or
(ii)
section 64A(4) applies to the vehicle.
Penalty for this subsection:
(a) for
a first offence —
(i)
a fine of not less than 12 PU or more than 38 PU; and
(ii)
the court convicting the person must, in any event, order
that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s
licence for a period of not less than 3 months;
(b) for
a second or subsequent offence —
(i)
a fine of not less than 38 PU or more than 60 PU; and
(ii)
the court convicting the person must, in any event, order
that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s
licence for a period of not less than 9 months.
(2) It is a defence to
a charge of an offence against subsection (1) for the accused to prove that
the accused’s blood alcohol content was not to any extent caused by any
of the following —
(a) the
consumption of an alcoholic beverage (otherwise than for the purposes of
religious observance);
(b) the
consumption or use of any other substance (for example, food or medicine) for
the purpose of consuming alcohol.
(3) For the purposes
of subsection (1), a previous conviction for an offence against subsection (4)
or section 63, 64, 64AA, 64A, 64AAA, 64AB, 64AC, 64B, 67, 67AA, 67AB, 67AC or
67AD is taken to be a previous offence against subsection (1).
(4) A person commits
an offence if —
(a) the
person drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle while —
(i)
a prescribed illicit drug is present in the
person’s oral fluid or blood; and
(ii)
the person has a blood alcohol content of or above 0.02 g
of alcohol per 100 ml of blood;
and
(b)
either —
(i)
section 64A(1) applies to the person; or
(ii)
section 64A(4) applies to the vehicle.
Penalty for this subsection:
(a) for
a first offence —
(i)
a fine of not less than 12 PU or more than 38 PU; and
(ii)
the court convicting the person must, in any event, order
that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s
licence for a period of not less than 6 months;
(b) for
a second or subsequent offence —
(i)
a fine of not less than 38 PU or more than 60 PU; and
(ii)
the court convicting the person must, in any event, order
that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s
licence for a period of not less than 10 months.
(5) For the purposes
of subsection (4), a previous conviction for an offence against section 63,
64, 64AA, 64A, 64AAA, 64AB, 64AC, 64B, 67, 67AA, 67AB, 67AC or 67AD is taken
to be a previous offence against subsection (4).
(6) A person charged
with an offence against subsection (1) or (4) may, instead of being convicted
of that offence, be convicted of an offence against section 64A(1), 64AAA(1)
or 64AC.
[Section 64C inserted: No. 27 of 2020 s. 13.]