benflux

I just got pulled over for a random check and got fined for "Driving with non QLD licence 3 months after residency"

I got my residency in Aug 2007 and validated it in Dec 2007, but have spent cummulatively less than 3 months in Queensland - do I have a case?

bcworld

Yes I think you probably do. If you can show that you took up residence in Qld less than 3 months ago then you should not be fined. When did you arrive in Qld permanently?

http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/Home...ional_drivers/

Your authority to drive in Queensland on your foreign driver licence will be withdrawn if you:

-become medically unfit to drive safely
-are an Australian citizen and you have been residing in Queensland for three months
-are not an Australian citizen, but before you took up residence in Queensland you were given a resident visa and you have now been residing in Queensland for three months
-are not an Australian citizen, but after you took up residence in Queensland you were given a resident visa and you have now been residing in Queensland for three months since getting the visa.

E3only

When would my authority to drive in Queensland on my foreign driver licence be withdrawn?

Your authority to drive in Queensland on your foreign driver licence will be withdrawn if you:

become medically unfit to drive safely
are an Australian citizen and you have been residing in Queensland for three months

are not an Australian citizen, but before you took up residence in Queensland you were given a resident visa and you have now been residing in Queensland for three months

are not an Australian citizen, but after you took up residence in Queensland you were given a resident visa and you have now been residing in Queensland for three months since getting the visa.

Note: A resident visa means a permanent visa or a special category visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Commonwealth). These visas allow a person to stay indefinitely in Australia. Other visas, for example a temporary, business or guardian visa, that allows a person to stay in Australia for a limited time, or until a certain event happens or while they have a special status, is not a resident visa.

__________________________________________________ __

"Been residing" - unclear if that means you need to be physically be in AU for 3 mnths or 3 months from the date of PR stamp..... I do think that you are guilty (sorry). That does not mean you will be charged. They might let you off.. . .

JAJ

Where are you really living, if not in Queensland?

E3only

His visa was validated in "DEC 2007". OP is asking if he can get away with it given that his "cummulative" stay been less than 3 months.

bcworld

Date of validation has no bearing on when you took up residence in Queensland. You are resident from when you permanently move to Qld.

Say the OP had validated in Sydney, they couldn't be considered to be resident in Qld from that date.

E3only

Fair...

IvanM

When did you move to QLD?

moneypenny20

If you've got a permanent residence but happen to have been out the country for several months you would still be deemed to have become a permanent resident as from December 2007 (or whenever you got a rental or purchased a house). Just because you've not physically been here for three months, I would have thought irrelevant in the eyes of QT.

ABCDiamond

Can you prove a residential address outside QLD ?
Is the car in your name and if so, what is the address that it is registered at ?

I had the same fine as you some years ago, but in NSW. I had to pay, as I had a NSW registered car, registered at my NSW address.

benflux

Had a rental place since Nov 07, just bought a place a month ago (both in QLD), then bought the car last Thursday and registered it to me at the purchased house...

...I guess if I contest it I have to go to court so may as well just pay the $150 and be pleased it didn't get me any points.

Dorothy

I would think that if you had a rental house in Queensland for the past 12 months the state could argue that you were resident in Queensland. Unless, of course you can show your passport which would show you were out of the country or some other proof that you were physically out of the state such as pay slips from another state.

ABCDiamond

Having a residence in QLD, (the rental property), since Nov 2007, I would have thought would be sufficient for the court to claim you had QLD residency. Even if you were temporarily out of the state for various periods.

I would pay up, and avoid court fees on top.

tomar

I might be wrong, but we are on a retirement visa which is a temporary visa re-newable every 4 years. So although temporary residents we had to get a QLD driving license within 3 months of arriving, as did our son as a student.
Just in case anyone thinks it only applies to permanent visas.

benflux

I will pay up and shut up. Thanks for your help anyway.