Hi all, I was soaking up the G20 atmosphere here in Brisbane and as it was so hot I spent the day on the beer, I got into an argument with a bouncer and was subsequently arrested and charged with "refused entry to a licensed premises" I've got to go to court next month, does anyone know what sort of punishment I can expect? I'm on a 457 visa so am also a bit worried?

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/indu...reases-patrons

google is your friend

Brisbane is very antiquated so my guess would be hung,drawn and quartered !

Well let's not beat about the bush, you haven't been a 'naughty boy', you've been a bit of a dickhead. You're not the first and you won't be the last.

Now that we've got that out of the way - the link below may help with information of possible repercussions for your visa. If it was just a verbal argument with no physical violence, then that's at the lowest end of the scale. If fisticuffs were involved, that ups the ante a bit. If you smashed a bottle and threatened the bouncer with it, you're gone and rightly so (not saying you did that, just giving you examples).

Dan, if your 457 is important to you and your future, get the advice and help of an immigration lawyer. How you present your defence in court is vital. For example, if you say 'oh, it was really hot and there was a lot happening so I got stuck into the booze', you'll get flayed. Get some advice, you need it. Follow your solicitor's advice, and then try to relax a bit, what's done is done and I'm sure you've learned from it.

https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-s...9character.htm
Another link re penalties that you may find useful http://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publi...t-strategy.pdf

What legal powers does a bouncer have to arrest you and charge you with a crime of made up wording? Is this a Brisbane thing?

Given so many yobs have basically walked away from killing someone while drunk driving or the one punch idiots, I imagine if it was just an argument its going to be not much.

Not sure how that affects the visa though, know mate in UK, her son got into a fair bit of drunken activity in AUS and was then refused visa to play college rugby in NZ.

Alcohol - It can turn the nicest person into the nastiest dickhead.
Some people are better off with out it.

I'd say get some legal advice. Reading the QLD website seems to indicate that its not an offence to get refused entry, but "to try to enter a licensed premises after being refused entry or resist an authorised person who is preventing entry."

That means either you had to either go back a second time after refusal or try to fight your way in at the first attempt. In my experience, there is no bar in Brisbane worth either of those.

Visa-wise - check your grant letter, it probably doesn't require you to report change of circumstances, in which case no need to fret about the visa at present.
Could come into play later though if you go for another 457, PR or even citizenship, IF you are convicted, so definitely get good legal advice.

I agree. As you were arrested, presumably by a cop not a bouncer, you will be required to get a visa to enter the US, unless of course you consider the arrest didn't involve a moral turpitude crime.

Lawyer up. Lawyers can find where cops don't follow the law.

Yep, I've only looked at it and got info from an Aus visa point of view, but it gets far more complex if going to the US, even without a conviction.

An arrest will do for our American friends. Let's put our trust in cops.

Thanks for the posts, yes I have been a dickhead, completely agree with that. Rang a lawyer with regard to a quote and it will be an expensive night just over a shitty little argument. Live and learn and it's all about damage limitation now.

Is arguing with a bouncer a crime in Brisbane?