Can I Appeal the Suspension of my Good Behaviour Licence?

Holders of ‘Good Behaviour Licences’ frequently ask whether any suspension of their licence can be appealed.

The answer is, only if you:

1. plead ‘not guilty’ and successfully defend the offence which caused the ‘breach’ of the good behaviour licence, or
2. plead ‘guilty’ to the offence but the Magistrate exercises his or her discretion under a ‘section 10 dismissal or conditional release order‘ of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 not to record a conviction against you for the offence.

The Magistrate will normally only exercise his or her discretion under a non conviction order if:

• the offence is relatively trivial, and/or
• there are ‘extenuating circumstances’ (ie a good explanation) for why the offence was committed, and/or
• the consequences of a conviction which be disproportionately harsh.

Otherwise, any ‘breach’ of a good behaviour licence will result in double the suspension period that would have applied if you did not elect for a good behaviour licence; eg 6 months rather than 3 months in cases where the demerit point limit was reached.