How police can suspend or confiscate your licence on the spot under section 224 of the Road Transport Act — durations, backdating rules, and your (limited) appeal rights.
Under section 224 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW), police have the power to immediately suspend or confiscate your driver licence at the time you are charged with certain drink or drug driving offences, well before your matter is heard in court.
Police must issue the immediate suspension notice within 48 hours of serving you with a penalty notice or charging you with the relevant offence. You are not permitted to drive from the moment you receive the notice.
| Offence | Suspension Duration |
|---|---|
| Novice / Special range PCA (1st) | Fixed 3 months |
| Low Range PCA (1st) | Fixed 3 months |
| Mid Range PCA | Confiscated until court date |
| High Range PCA | Confiscated until court date |
| DUI / drug driving / GBH or fatality offences | Confiscated until court date |
For Mid Range, High Range and more serious matters, there is no fixed suspension period — your licence remains confiscated until your case is finalised, which may be months depending on court listing times.
Under section 206B, if you ultimately receive a licence disqualification at court, it can be backdated to the date your licence was originally confiscated by police. This means the time you have already spent unable to drive counts toward your total disqualification period.
You may appeal an immediate suspension to the Local Court within 28 days of the notice. However, under section 268(5), the court will only set aside or vary the suspension if satisfied there are "exceptional circumstances" — a genuinely high threshold that most applicants do not meet. Your licence remains suspended while the appeal is pending.
If you drive during an immediate suspension, you commit a further offence carrying its own fines, disqualification and potential imprisonment — and it will significantly harm your position at your original court hearing.
The immediate suspension is separate from your final penalty. What matters most now is how well-prepared your court submission is for the hearing itself.
Under section 224 of the Road Transport Act 2013, police can immediately suspend or confiscate your licence when charging you with Novice, Special or Low Range PCA, Mid or High Range PCA, drug driving, DUI, or an offence involving death or grievous bodily harm.
For a first Novice, Special or Low Range PCA offence, the on-the-spot suspension is a fixed 3 months. For Mid Range, High Range, DUI, drug driving and more serious matters, your licence is confiscated entirely and you cannot drive at all until your court date.
Often yes. Under section 206B of the Road Transport Act, a court-imposed disqualification period can be backdated to the date your licence was confiscated by police, so time already served counts toward your total disqualification.
Yes, you can appeal to the Local Court within 28 days of the suspension being issued. However, section 268(5) requires the court to be satisfied there are 'exceptional circumstances' before it will overturn the suspension — this is a high bar and most appeals do not succeed.
Driving while your licence is suspended is a serious separate offence in NSW, carrying significant fines, additional disqualification, and potential imprisonment. It also seriously damages your position at your original court hearing.
No. An immediate suspension is an administrative or police power used before your matter is finalised in court. It is not a conviction and does not determine what final penalty you will receive.