NSW penalties and demerit points

Demerit point limits

Points build up with each offence, and every licence stage has its own ceiling.

• 4 points is the ceiling for learners and red P1 drivers.
• Green P2 drivers can reach 7 points, and full licence holders 13.
• Points count over three years, measured from the date of each offence, not the day you paid the fine.
• So points earned on 1 March 2023 drop out of the count after 1 March 2026.
• A full licence holder on 11 points who picks up a 3 point fine sits at 14, past the limit.

Suspensions and good behaviour

What happens at the limit depends on which licence you hold.

• Learners, P1 and P2 drivers who reach their limit are suspended for three months.
• A P2 driver suspended for a driving offence spends an extra six months on P2.
• A full licence holder may choose a 12 month good behaviour period instead of serving the suspension straight away.
• Pick up 2 or more points during that period and the suspension doubles.
• While suspended you must not drive at all, not even once to get to work.

On Ls or red Ps, any speeding offence carries at least 4 points, the whole limit. Just 5 km/h over is enough to lose the licence.

Speeding, phones and double demerits

Some offences carry set points, and holiday periods double them.

• Any speeding by a learner or P plate driver: at least 4 points.
• More than 30 km/h over brings a suspension on top of the fine, and more than 45 km/h over a longer one.
• Roadwork limits are real limits whether or not workers are about, so breaking one is a speeding offence.
• A phone offence costs 5 points, or 10 in a double demerit period.
• Double demerits run in declared holiday periods, such as Easter and Christmas, for speeding, phone, seatbelt and helmet offences.

Cameras, detectors and tolls

Getting caught does not need a police car in your mirror.

• Cameras detect red light running, speeding, phone use and seatbelt offences.
• A red light camera records a car that enters the intersection after the light has turned red.
• Holding your phone while stopped at a red light is still an offence, and a camera can catch it.
• Radar detectors and jammers are illegal to have in a car, even switched off.
• Every toll road trip is charged. With no tag or pass you get a toll notice, to be paid by its due date.

Hoon driving

Police have extra powers for street racing, burnouts and driving like them.

• For street racing or a burnout, police can take the car or its number plates for three months.
• A street or drag racing conviction adds demerit points and a large fine.
• A second offence can see the owner's car forfeited for good and sold.
• Needless noise or smoke, like revving hard at the lights or spinning the wheels, is an offence in itself, car parks included.

Dangerous driving, drink and drugs

Courts treat these as serious crimes, even when nobody is injured.

• Dangerous or reckless driving can bring disqualification, a fine and up to 9 months in prison with no one hurt, and far more if someone is.
• Negligent driving can cost a fine and your licence even when nobody is injured.
• A drink driving conviction can mean a fine, loss of licence, prison and an alcohol interlock.
• A first low range drink driving offence, or a first drug presence offence, brings an immediate three month suspension and a fine.
• Driving while suspended or disqualified leads to heavy fines, a longer ban and possible prison.