Prior history guidelines for applicants

If your bankruptcy is ongoing, you are not eligible to apply until you are released from your status as bankrupt. 

We will assess this on a case-by-case basis.

You are not eligible to apply with eight or more current demerit points.

You can apply if your demerit points fall to seven points or below. Exceptional circumstances may apply.

We also consider your full driving record and attitude to road law.

Excessive penalty notices will affect your application. 

A 12-month demerit point bond or a demerit point suspension may affect your application. 

You may be eligible one year after the date of the bond or suspension period.

Various driving offences will affect your application.

Drink driving offences

You may not be eligible to apply if you have a finding of guilt for driving while exceeding the blood alcohol level (Exceed PCA).

With a reading of 0.1 per cent or more, you can apply five years after the date of the offence.

With a reading under 0.1 per cent, you can apply two years after the date of the offence.

We will assess multiple drink driving offences on a case-by-case basis.

Other driving offences

Serious driving offences include:

• driving in a dangerous manner
• driving at a dangerous speed
• driving under the influence of alcohol
• drug impaired driving
• refusing or failing to comply with an assessment
• refusing or failing to comply with requirements of testing.

If you have a serious driving offence, you may be eligible to apply 10 years after the date of the offence.

Driving with a cancelled or disqualified licence will affect your application.  You can apply 10 years from the date of your driving offence.

You may not be eligible to apply if found driving with a suspended licence. You can apply five years from the date of your driving offence.

If you have a finding of guilt for drug offences, you will be excluded for at least two years. This applies up to indefinitely from the date of offending.

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• currently under investigation for criminal proceedings
• charged with criminal proceedings
• awaiting criminal proceedings.

You may apply after all the outstanding matters are finalised. We will assess these on a case-by-case basis.

If you have been sentenced to any term of imprisonment, you will be excluded from applying indefinitely. 

This includes suspended sentences, community correction orders, or orders of a similar nature, and time in a Youth Training Centre.

An applicant with a finding of guilt for a serious offence may be eligible to apply:

• 10 years after the date of the offence when committed as an adult
• five years after the date of the offence if committed as a child.

Indictable offences include offences such as:

• theft
• deception
• criminal damage
• serious assault.

If you are the respondent in a full intervention or personal safety order, you may be eligible to apply five years from the date of the end of that order. This also applies to a previous full order.

If you are the subject of an intervention or personal safety order, you cannot apply while the order is in effect.

If you have a finding of guilt for breaching an intervention order, you may be eligible  to apply:

• 10 years after the date of the breach if the offence was committed as an adult.
• five years after the date of the breach if the offence was committed as a child.

If you were a director of a company that was declared or made insolvent, you may be eligible to apply five years after the declared date.

A licence suspension, cancellation, or disqualification period will affect your application. 

You may be eligible to apply two years after the date that period is completed.

This does not include drink or drug driving offences, or unpaid fines.

We will assess multiple licence offences on a case-by-case basis.

If you have an outstanding warrant or order, you can not apply until those matters are finalised.

Outstanding warrants and orders include:

• warrants
• court orders
• fines
• corrections orders
• payment plans.

We will assess these on a case-by-case basis.

A ‘prohibited person’ under any Act is not eligible. That person may be considered if the prohibition is lifted.

If you have a finding of guilt for a summary offence, you may be eligible to apply five years after the finding of guilt. 

Summary offences include:

• dishonesty
• assault
• property damage
• any offence against an emergency services worker.

If you have been found guilty of multiple summary offences, such as behavioural offences, you may be eligible to apply five years after your second offence. 

We will assess all other summary offence findings on a case-by-case basis.