Driving offences and crime
If you commit a driving or minor criminal offence you may be fined or charged.
If you have received a fine (penalty notice) see the
Fines section of this website.
If you have been charged and you have received a Court Attendance Notice (CAN), you will have to go to the Local Court.
This topic has information about:
If you have been charged with a serious offence or you think you might go to prison, you should get
legal advice.
The information in this topic should only be used if you are appearing in the Local Court of NSW. If you are under 18 and have been charged with a criminal offence, or if you are under 16 and have been charged with a driving offence, your case will be dealt with by the Children's Court of NSW. Before going to court, you should get legal advice.
Driving offences
A driving offence occurs when someone driving a vehicle, or someone in a vehicle, breaks a law.
This section covers:
- What is a driving offence?
- What can you be charged with?
- Who can charge you?
- What do the prosecution have to prove?
- What is a defence?
- Losing your licence
- Losing your car or number plates.
For more information, see
Driving offences.
Criminal offences
A crime occurs when a person breaks a law and commits an offence against the community in general or against a particular victim.
This section covers:
- What is a crime?
- What can you be charged with?
- Who can charge you?
- What do the prosecution have to prove?
- What is a defence?
For more information, see
Criminal offences.
Responding to a charge
If you have been charged with an offence and given a CAN, you will have to go to the specified court on a particular date. Before you go to court, you should check what you have been charged with and consider how you want to respond to those charges.
If you have lost your court papers, you can get a copy:
- from the Local Court registry
- by calling Court Service Centre on 1300 679 272 and asking for a copy to be posted to you
- from your lawyer.
Aboriginal people can get a copy by:
- speaking to the Aboriginal Service Unit worker at the Local Court
- calling the Aboriginal Services Unit on 1300 679 272.
If you are unsure how to respond to a charge, you should get legal advice.
This section covers:
- Checking what you have been charged with
- Negotiating with the police
- Pleading guilty or not guilty
- Applying for a mental health order
- The first court date
- If you miss court.
For more information, see
Responding to a charge.
Pleading guilty
If you plead guilty, you are telling the court you agree with the charges. Your case may be dealt with on the first day so you should prepare before you go to court.
This section covers:
- Pleading guilty in writing
- Preparing for court
- Intervention programs
- Going to court
- Changing your plea
- The decision.
For more information, see
Pleading guilty.
Pleading not guilty
If you decide to plead not guilty, you will have to go to a hearing. The police will present their evidence, and you will get a chance to present yours.
This section covers:
- Pleading not guilty in writing
- Preparing for the hearing
- Going to the hearing
- Changing your plea
- The decision.
For more information, see
Pleading not guilty.
After court
After you plead guilty or are found guilty after a hearing, the Court will sentence you. This means it will decide on a penalty and make certain orders about costs. You may also get a record.
If you need help to understand the court orders, you should get legal advice.
Aboriginal people can get help to understand court orders by speaking to an Aboriginal Service Unit worker at the Local Court, or by calling the Aboriginal Services Unit on 1300 679 272.
This section covers:
- Losing your licence
- Paying a court fine
- Paying costs
- Driving and criminal records
- Appealing the decision
- If you miss court.
For more information, see
After court.
Who's who in court
This section shows you what the courtroom will look like, who the different people are and where you should sit when you go to court.
For more information, see
Who's who in court.
Forms
This section has instructions and sample forms as well as sample letters and documents like character references and submissions.
For more information, see
Forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
This section has answers to common questions that you may have when going to court for a driving offence or minor criminal offence.
For more information, see
Frequently Asked Questions.
Last updated: January 2023