Drink driving is a criminal offence in Queensland, and it is dealt with in a criminal court. Whether it leaves you with a criminal record is a separate question, and the answer is that it depends on whether the magistrate records a conviction.

That distinction is the whole thing, and almost nobody knows it exists before they are standing in a courtroom. So this article sets out what the two different records are, what actually goes on each one, and why the question people should be asking is not the one they usually ask.

Two different records, and they do different work

Your traffic history is held by Transport and Main Roads. It is where your licence, your demerit points and your driving offences live. If you want a copy, that is who you ask.

Your criminal history is held by police. Queensland Government material describes a criminal record as a formal record of offences you have been convicted of, and the Queensland Police Service describes a Queensland criminal history as containing convictions for criminal offences arising from prosecutions started by Queensland police officers.

Those are separate systems, kept by separate agencies, and asked for in separate ways. A drink driving matter can touch both, and people who assume it only touches the first one get a surprise later.

The question that actually decides it

When a magistrate deals with you for a drink driving charge, there are two decisions being made, not one. What the penalty is, and whether a conviction is recorded.

Under the Penalties and Sentences Act a court has a discretion about whether to record a conviction. In deciding, it has to consider the nature of the offence, your character and your age, and what recording a conviction would do to your ability to earn a living or your standing in the community.

That last part is the one that matters for most people, and it only carries weight if the court is actually told about it. A magistrate can only weigh what is in front of them. If a recorded conviction would cost you a job, a visa, a licence or a blue card, that needs to be put before the court properly, with something to back it up, not mentioned in passing on the day.

Nobody can tell you in advance whether a conviction will be recorded in your matter. What can be said is that it is a live question, it is decided at the same hearing as everything else, and it is far easier to address before your court date than afterwards.

Even where no conviction is recorded

Two things still happen, and this is where people relax too early.

The offence still happened and it is still on your traffic history. Not recording a conviction is a decision about your criminal history. It is not a finding that nothing occurred, and it does not clear your driving record.

Some employers and schemes ask you anyway. Queensland Government material notes that some jobs, such as working with children, may require you to disclose whether you have been found guilty or pleaded guilty in court even where no conviction was recorded. So the question on a form is not always "do you have a criminal record". Read the question you are actually being asked.

And your licence is a different question again

This trips up more people than anything else on this page.

Whether a conviction is recorded and what happens to your licence are not the same decision.

If you are convicted of a drink driving offence, the disqualification is automatic. The magistrate decides how long it runs, within minimum and maximum periods set by law, not whether it happens at all. The Queensland Government publishes those periods and every offence category carries a minimum. And even where a court decides not to record a conviction, you are still disqualified.

So if your licence is the thing you are actually trying to protect, that needs its own answer, asked specifically, rather than being folded into a general hope that the matter will be dealt with lightly.

Our page on drink driving covers how the charges themselves work, and our page on work licence and hardship applications covers the one avenue that exists for keeping you on the road for work.

How long a recorded conviction stays visible

Queensland has a spent convictions scheme, and Queensland Government material sets out the general periods. For Queensland convictions, those in the Supreme Court or District Court as an adult are generally spent after 10 years, and convictions in other cases are generally spent after 5 years. For national checks the general periods described are 5 years where someone was convicted as a child and 10 years for other cases.

Spent does not mean deleted, and there are situations where a spent conviction can still be disclosed. If you are dealing with a specific check for a specific purpose, that is a question to ask about that check rather than a general rule to rely on.

What to do before your court date

Find out exactly what you have been charged with. The offence category shapes everything that follows, including whether the interlock program will apply to you afterwards.

Get your traffic history. It is easy to obtain, and people genuinely misremember what is on it, usually in their own favour.

Work out, concretely, what a recorded conviction would cost you. Not in general terms. Which employer, which licence, which visa, which registration, and what does that scheme actually ask about. Vague worry does not help a magistrate. A specific, evidenced consequence might.

And do all of that before the day rather than in the corridor. The conviction question is decided once.

This article is current as at August 2026. Fines and penalties in Queensland changed on 1 July 2026 and the rules move regularly, so check the current Queensland Government material rather than relying on an article.

If you have been charged in Cairns and your job is the real worry

For a lot of people the disqualification is survivable and the record is not. Those are different problems and they get solved in different ways, but both are decided at the same hearing.

We act in drink driving and traffic matters in Cairns and across Far North Queensland. If a recorded conviction would cause you a specific problem at work, that needs to be prepared before your court date so it can be dealt with properly on the day.

If you have been charged with drink driving in Cairns and a conviction would affect your work, speak with us before your court date.