Our lawyers at Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers are experts in defending drink driving charges in Melbourne.
Charged with a drink driving?
A drink driving offence in Victoria can have serious and lasting consequences. If you are charged with drink driving, you may face mandatory driver licence disqualification, significant fines, alcohol interlock conditions, and in some cases imprisonment for repeat offences.
At Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, our experienced Melbourne drink driving lawyers regularly defend clients charged with drink driving offences in the Magistrates’ Court and courts throughout Victoria. If you have been charged with drink driving in Melbourne or anywhere in Victoria, it is important to obtain legal advice as soon as possible. Drink driving laws are highly technical and the outcome of your case can depend on the evidence, police procedures, and the legal strategy adopted early in the matter.
Drink driving offences in Victoria are governed by the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic). Under section 49(1)(b) of the Act, a person commits an offence if they drive or are in charge of a motor vehicle while the prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) is present in their blood or breath.
Under section 49(1)(f), a person may also commit an offence if a breath analysis conducted within three hours of driving indicates a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit.
For most fully licensed drivers in Victoria, the legal limit is 0.05 BAC
However, some drivers must maintain 0.00 BAC, including:
Even a small reading above the permitted limit can lead to immediate licence suspension and court proceedings.
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Drink driving offences can result in serious penalties, including:
For many people, losing their licence can have a major impact on their:
Our lawyers focus on defending charges where possible and minimising penalties where appropriate.
Yes. Drink driving offences can appear on your criminal record and driving record. In some cases, the court may record a conviction. In other cases, the court may make a finding of guilt without conviction.
Legal advice should be obtained before accepting a penalty or pleading guilty.
Yes. Drink driving offences are highly technical areas of law. Successful defences may arise from issues such as:
Many drivers are told they have no option but to plead guilty. In some cases this advice is incorrect.
At Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, we carefully analyse the evidence, police procedures and technical legal requirements before advising clients on the best course of action.
Our lawyers have successfully defended drink driving charges in Melbourne and throughout Victoria, including cases where other lawyers advised clients that the matter could not be contested.
If instructed by police to stop your vehicle, you must stop and provide a breath test. Failure to do so attracts a mandatory loss of driver license and a fine for first time offenders.
You must also provide your name and address. You are not required to answer other questions.
If the preliminary breath test is positive, police may require you to undergo a second evidentiary breath test at a police station or booze bus.
Police must wait at least 15 minutes between conducting a preliminary breath test and an evidentiary breath test.
The police can wait up to 3 hours to test you from the time of driving, but not any longer. You are not obliged to comply with a request for a breath test if 3 hours have passed since you drove a motor vehicle.
You have the right to ask for a blood test after your evidentiary breath test.
If you have been taken to hospital as a result of a car accident, you must allow a doctor to take a sample of blood for analysis.
When testing for your blood alcohol content there are usually two tests conducted by police: A preliminary breath test – which only indicates the presence of alcohol on your breath (although it provides police with an approximate blood alcohol content reading it will usually not be disclosed to you) and an evidentiary breath test – if the preliminary breath test indicates a positive result for the presence of alcohol, the police may require you to attend a booze bus or police station for the purpose of conducting a further more accurate test, known as an evidentiary breath test.
This evidentiary breath test will provide an actual reading of blood alcohol concentration which will be alleged and relied upon against you.
Yes. Police may conduct breath analysis within three hours of driving.
Yes. Drink driving offences in Victoria are not limited to public roads and may occur on private property.
Refusing to accompany police is treated as a serious offence in Victoria.
If found guilty, penalties include:
These penalties are often more severe than standard drink driving offences.
Courts treat refusal offences seriously because:
As a result, mandatory disqualification periods apply, even for first-time offenders.
Victoria Police generally do not have the power to arrest you solely for exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) or for refusing to accompany police for breath testing.
However, this does not mean the offence is minor.
After a disqualification period ends, drivers cannot automatically resume driving.
These requirements can be complex and costly.
Our lawyers regularly assist clients with licence restoration applications and interlock removal applications.
Yes, in some circumstances a drink driving charge may be withdrawn. This may occur where there are issues with the evidence, errors in police procedure, or legal problems with the breath or blood testing process.
Drink driving law is highly technical, and successful defences may arise if police fail to comply with the requirements of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic).
An experienced drink driving lawyer can review the evidence and determine whether there are grounds to challenge the charge.
Victoria Police have the power to immediately suspend a driver’s licence under sections 85B and 85G of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic).
Police may issue a Notice of Immediate Suspension where a driver:
Once the notice is issued, the driver’s licence is immediately suspended, and the driver must surrender their licence to police.
Our experienced Melbourne drink driving lawyers can apply to the Magistrates’ Court to have the suspension cancelled in appropriate cases. In many matters, we have successfully restored a client’s licence within approximately 14 days where the court was satisfied the driver did not pose an unacceptable risk to road safety.
If you have been charged with drink driving, drug driving or another traffic offence in Melbourne or Victoria, it is important to obtain legal advice as soon as possible.
Early legal advice can make a significant difference to the outcome of your case.
Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers regularly represent drivers in traffic and drink driving matters across Victoria and throughout Australia. We are experts in highly technical defences and know how to win these drink driving cases.
Our lawyers will carefully analyse your case and provide clear advice on your legal options and defence strategy.
A combined drink and drug driving offence occurs when a driver has both alcohol and drugs present in their system within three hours of driving.
These offences are governed by section 49(1)(bc) of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic).
Combined offences can result in higher penalties, including longer licence disqualification periods.
Our lawyers regularly represent clients charged with combined alcohol and drug offences and apply technical legal arguments to:
Drink driving law in Victoria is highly technical and requires a thorough understanding of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic), police procedures, and drink driving case law. At Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, our experienced Melbourne drink driving lawyers have successfully defended numerous drink driving charges throughout Victoria and Australia.
In many cases, clients have approached us after being advised by other lawyers that their matter could not be defended. After carefully reviewing the evidence and the police procedures involved, we have successfully contested charges, identified technical legal defences, and achieved favourable outcomes for our clients.
Our successful results have included cases involving procedural errors, unlawful arrests, administrative mistakes by police, and effective cross-examination of witnesses in court. In some matters where clients decided to plead guilty, we have also successfully advocated to reduce penalties or avoid licence loss in circumstances where it would otherwise have been expected.
Our focus is always on thorough preparation, strategic defence, and protecting your driver’s licence, livelihood and future.
We assess the evidence, identify available defences, and develop a clear strategy to minimise penalties or avoid conviction where possible.
✔️ We will carefully listen to your story & support you
✔️ We will offer defense strategies to help you
✔️ We will advise you in plain-language, no legal jargon
✔️ We will minimise penalties and damage to your life where possible
✔️ We will offer the best legal representation in court
✔️ Clear, practical legal advice from experienced criminal defence lawyers
✔️ Strong representation in Melbourne courts from the outset
✔️ Strategic guidance tailored to your specific circumstances
✔️ Transparent communication at every stage of your matter
✔️ Proactive defence focused on minimising penalties and protecting your record
