Bills

Motor Vehicles (Previous Offences) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:51): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 and the Road Traffic Act 1961. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:52): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

I am pleased to introduce the Motor Vehicles (Previous Offences) Amendment Bill 2024 which amends the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 (MVA) and the Road Traffic Act 1961 (RTA).

In May 2019, the Statutes Amendment (Vehicle Inspection and South Eastern Freeway Offences) Act 2017, came into operation, amending the MVA and the RTA by inserting two new offences and respective penalties applying to trucks and buses travelling on the South Eastern Freeway descent into Adelaide. One offence is exceeding the applicable speed limit by 10 kilometres (km) or more per hour, and the other offence is failure to use a low gear when descending the South Eastern Freeway. In December 2019, Parliament amended the penalties in response to concerns raised about the severity of penalties imposed on offenders committing multiple offences involving speeding or failing to use low gear while descending the South Eastern Freeway.

The intent of the penalty provisions for these offences is to ensure that each offence is treated individually with an escalating disqualification period, regardless of whether an offence is expiated or a conviction is imposed by a court. Essentially, the more offences a person commits, the greater the punishment. This is intended to deter future offending and ultimately to protect the public by enhancing road safety by disqualifying people who repeatedly engage in risky road user behaviour.

However, the Government has become aware that the provisions may not achieve this intended outcome.

This Bill seeks to eliminate the administrative anomaly, permitting the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (the Registrar) to impose disqualification periods regardless of the timing of the commission and expiation of the alleged offences.

In addition, the escalating penalty structure for South Eastern Freeway heavy vehicle speeding expiating offences has been removed, with a 6 month flat penalty regime introduced to address cases where very lengthy periods of disqualification have been imposed with somewhat harsh results. The same penalty will therefore apply every time the person allegedly commits a further offence (subject to the 5 year period limitation).

The Bill seeks to ensure the intended outcome relating to escalating penalties is also achieved for the following offences:

Alcohol and drug dependency assessment tests (section 79B).

Drink driving offences (section 81C).

Drug driving offences (section 81D).

Section 79B provides that a person must undertake a drug dependency assessment if they commit a drug offence with a child in the vehicle who is under the age of 16, or they commit 2 or more drug driving offences within a 5-year period.

The Bill inserts a new section making it clear that the order in which alleged offences are expiated or the subject of a conviction does not affect the Registrar's duty to ensure that any person who commits multiple offences undertakes an alcohol or drug dependency assessment.

Section 81C and 81D are also amended to ensure that the dates of commission and expiation of multiple offences are irrelevant to the Registrar's duty to impose a disqualification period.

The Bill further ensures that where a person has multiple disqualification periods applying, each period will run consecutively, one after the other, not concurrently, reflecting the original legislative intent.

The Bill also amends the RTA to ensure that SA Police can prosecute second and subsequent drink and driving offences regardless of whether a first offence has been expiated or a conviction imposed, which aligns with the original intention of Parliament.

The Bill also provides the Registrar the ability to reduce or waive lengthy disqualifications in cases of severe or unusual hardship. The discretion may be exercised in favour of drivers already serving their disqualification periods at the time of the commencement of the Bill, as well as drivers who have been issued a disqualification notice prior to the commencement of the Bill, but are yet to commence serving their disqualification.

I draw Members' attention to the fact that the escalating hierarchy of penalties for offences prosecuted and considered by the Courts remain unchanged. Only disqualifications imposed by the Registrar are affected by the Bill.

I seek the support of Members to progress the Bill through the House as expeditiously as possible.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Motor Vehicles Act 1959

3—Amendment of section 79B—Alcohol and drug dependency assessments and issue of licences

This clause amends section 79B to make it clear that an offence may be taken into account as a previous 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.

4—Amendment of section 81BB—Appeals to Magistrates Court

This clause amends section 81BB(1) to make it clear that a person must have been given their notice of disqualification before they can appeal.

5—Amendment of section 81BC—Disqualification for certain offences relating to section 45C of the Road Traffic Act 1961

This clause amends section 81BC to:

make it clear that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can give a notice of disqualification to a person in circumstances where the person has been convicted of, or expiated, offences to which the section applies in a different order to the order in which they were committed or allegedly committed (so that an offence that appeared to be a first offence at the time of expiation but that later turns out to have in fact been a second or subsequent offence can be treated as such a second or subsequent offence);

to replace the current levels of disqualification with a 6 month disqualification for all second or subsequent offences;

to specify how the Registrar is to deal with multiple offences that are expiated at the same time;

to make it clear that a person may be given a notice under the 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.

6—Amendment of section 81C—Disqualification for certain drink driving offences

This clause amends section 81C to:

make it clear that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can give a notice of disqualification to a person, or give an additional notice of disqualification to a person in circumstances where the person has been convicted of, or expiated, offences to which the section applies in a different order to the order in which they were committed or allegedly committed (so that, for example, an offence that appeared to be a second offence at the time of expiation but that later turns out to have in fact been a third or subsequent offence can be treated as such a third or subsequent offence);

to specify how the Registrar is to deal with multiple offences that are expiated at the same time;

to make it clear that a person may be given a notice under the section in relation to a second, third 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, third or subsequent offence.

7—Amendment of section 81D—Disqualification for certain drug driving offences

This clause amends section 81D to:

make it clear that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can give a notice of disqualification to a person in circumstances where the person has been convicted of, or expiated, offences to which the section applies in a different order to the order in which they were committed or allegedly committed;

to specify how the Registrar is to deal with multiple offences that are expiated at the same time;

to make it clear that a person may be given a notice under the section in relation to a second, third 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, third or subsequent offence.

8—Amendment of section 139BD—Service and commencement of notices of disqualification

Section 139BD is amended to specify that notices of disqualification that would otherwise apparently take effect at the same time will instead take effect in the order determined by the Registrar, with each notice of disqualification taking effect on the termination of the prior disqualification or suspension.

Schedule 1—Related amendments and transitional provisions etc

Part 1—Related amendment of Road Traffic Act 1961

1—Amendment of section 47B—Driving while having prescribed concentration of alcohol in blood

Section 47B(5) and (6) are substituted to require a person (of or over 16) to be given an opportunity to expiate an alleged category 1 offence if the information available to members of SA Police at the relevant time for the alleged offence indicates that the person has not committed or allegedly committed another drink driving offence or drug driving offence within the prescribed period immediately preceding the date on which the offence under consideration was allegedly committed.

2—Amendment of section 47BA—Driving with prescribed drug in oral fluid or blood

Section 47BA(6) and (7) are substituted to require a person (of or over 16) to be given an opportunity to expiate an alleged offence against the section if the information available to members of SA Police at the relevant time for the alleged offence indicates that the person has not committed or allegedly committed another drink driving offence or drug driving offence within the prescribed period immediately preceding the date on which the offence under consideration was allegedly committed.

Part 2—Transitional provisions etc

3—Notices issued etc before commencement of Act

Under this provision:

it is declared to have always been lawful for the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to give a person a notice under section 81BC, 81C or 81D of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 in relation to a second, third 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, third or subsequent offence;

a decision of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, before the commencement of the measure, to treat an offence as a first offence or as a second, third or subsequent offence for the purposes of section 81BC, 81C or 81D of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 is taken to be, and to have always been, validly made if the decision was based on the date of commission, or alleged commission, of the offence and no liability lies against the Registrar of Motor Vehicles or the Crown in respect of any period of licence disqualification or any licence suspension or cancellation applying to a person pursuant to such a decision;

the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is given a discretion to alleviate severe or unusual hardship caused to a person by a period of licence disqualification or suspension pursuant to 1 or more notices given, or purportedly given, under section 81BC(2) before the commencement of the measure;

a decision of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to treat 2 or more notices of disqualification personally acknowledged by, or served on, a person in accordance with section 139BD of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 as taking effect one after another in a particular order (and not to be taking effect at the same time) is taken to be, and to have always been, validly made.

4—Notices issued after commencement of Act

Under this provision:

the Registrar of Motor Vehicles may give a person a notice pursuant to new section 81BC(3a), 81C(4) or 81D(2a) of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 in respect of offences committed or allegedly committed before the commencement of the relevant provision provided that the person is convicted of or expiates the previous offence referred to in the relevant provision after that commencement;

the new 6 month disqualification for all second or subsequent offences under section 81BC will apply in relation to all notices issued under that section following commencement of the measure.

5—Application of amendments to Road Traffic Act 1961

This clause specifies how sections 47B and 47BA of the Road Traffic Act 1961 as amended by the measure will apply.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G. Pisoni.