Your documents

If you are going to court to plead guilty to a driving or criminal charge, you should give the court some documents to support your submissions.

​​Character references

A character reference is a letter to the court written by people who know you and can tell the court about your character.

A character reference can:

• show the magistrate you are normally a person of good character
• tell the magistrate about any special circumstances, such as why you need a licence or any personal issues which may help explain why you committed the offence.

Instructions: Instructions for writing a character reference

Sample: Character reference

An apology letter

Writing an apology letter to the court is usually a good idea if you are pleading guilty.

An apology letter can show the court:

• that you are sorry for the offence or offences and take responsibility for them
  
• any steps you will take to change your behaviour.
  

Employment and education

You should tell the magistrate about your employment and education history.

If you have been charged with a driving offence and you need a drivers licence for your job, you should let the court know.  It is a good idea to get a letter from your employer confirming that you need your licence for work and how losing your licence may affect your job. The court may take that into consideration when deciding how long to disqualify you from driving, or whether to disqualify you at all.

When sentencing you the magistrate can also take into account your education. You may want to provide copies of certificates showing your level of education to the court.

Medical evidence

If you are suffering from any medical condition or are receiving treatment, you should provide evidence of this to the magistrate. You can hand up a detailed medical certificate, letter or report from your doctor.

Any certificate, letter or report should be signed and dated. It should also be addressed to the Presiding Magistrate of the court your case is listed in.

If you are receiving medication for a condition, you can also bring a recent prescription.

Other documents

If you think there are other things about you that the court should take into consideration, you should tell the magistrate and if necessary provide some evidence. For example you could provide:

• a copy of payslips
• a letter from Centrelink if you want to tell the magistrate that it would be difficult for you to pay a large fine
• a copy of receipts if you were charged with an offence where someone was hurt or property was damaged and you paid for the victim's expenses or the property damage
• evidence of weather and road conditions if you have been charged with a traffic offence.