After court

If you decided to plead guilty, or if you were found guilty after a hearing, the magistrate will sentence you, which means they will decide on a penalty.

This section has information you need to know after the magistrate makes a decision and sentences you.

​​Losing your licence

If you are guilty of a driving offence, the court may disqualify you from driving for a period of time. 

If you were found guilty of a driving offence including alcohol, the court may make a Mandatory Interlock Order.

If the court has disqualified you, you may be able to apply to get the disqualification removed or quashed depending on when you were disqualified and the orders the court made.

For more information, see Losing your licence.

Paying a court fine

The magistrate may decide to give you a fine in addition to another penalty or as a penalty by itself. If you have been given a fine, the court will send you a Notice of Penalty.

For more information, see Paying a court fine.

Paying costs

If you have been found guilty, the court might make orders that you pay costs. The costs you may have to pay include:

• court costs levy
• victims support levy
• prosecutor's costs
• criminal compensation.

If you are found not guilty and you are represented by a lawyer, you can ask the magistrate to order that the prosecution pay your legal costs.

For more information, see Paying costs.

Driving and criminal records 

If you have been found guilty and convicted, there will be a record of the conviction. Depending on the type of offence, it may be recorded on your driving record or your criminal record.

For more information, see Driving and criminal records.

Appeals

If you are not happy with the decision of the court, you can think about whether to appeal the decision.

It is possible to appeal:

• a conviction, if you do not think the magistrate should have decided that you are guilty
• the sentence, if you believe it was too harsh.

You have 28 days to appeal a local court decision to the district court. 

For more information, see Appeals.

If you didn't turn up to court you may have been found guilty without being there. For more information about what to do in this situation, see If you miss court.

FAQs

For answers to frequently asked questions, see Frequently asked questions.