What is a Work Licence?

A Work Licence (or ‘Limited Licence’ which is the legal term for a Work Licence) is a specific type of driver’s licence issued by the New Zealand Transport Agency (“NZTA”).

A Work Licence permits driving on certain restrictive conditions that have been specified in an order of the District Court.

In order to obtain a Work licence (from NZTA) therefor it is first necessary to apply to the District Court for an order authorising NZTA to issue you with the Work Licence.

The District Court will consider your application following input from the Police and determine firstly whether or not you meet the legislative test for being granted a Work Licence and if so, what restrictions should be placed on your driving.

The licence itself is similar in appearance to the standard driver’s licence but is coloured pink instead of a standard green.

Work Licences exist to alleviate defined degrees of hardship caused by loss of licence.

They also have the effect of introducing an element of fairness to the legal process which removes the privilege of driving for a set period without taking into account the disparity of impact that penalty might have in different cases.

For example, a mandatory 6 month disqualification for a truck driver will be a much greater penalty than the same disqualification on a business person who lives a short bus-ride from her workplace, and a Work Licence has the effect of levelling out that disparity (albeit at a likely additional cost of $1-2000 for the Truckie with a family to support).

Am I eligible to apply?

The legislation governing Work licences specifies a number of situations where a person may not apply for a Work Licence, and in general terms these include:

• persons convicted of certain repeat drink or drug related driving charges where an indefinite disqualification has been imposed.

• persons convicted of drink or drug related driving in a vehicle used for a transport service if the Work Licence would authorise them to drive in a transport service.

• persons convicted of driving whilst disqualified or suspended or contrary to the terms of a zero alcohol, interlock or Work Licence.

• persons convicted of any two qualifying offences arising out of separate incidents committed within 5 years of each other (qualifying offences include drink or drug related driving (excluding youth level offences), dangerous or reckless driving, careless or inconsiderate driving causing injury or death, failing to stop after an accident, applying for or obtaining a driver’s licence while disqualified – the two qualifying offences do not need to be of a different kind and what is important is that the two offence dates must be within 5 years for the prohibition to apply).

If you do not fall into any of the above categories (and you have been disqualified by the court or your licence has been suspended due to excess demerit points) then you are eligible to apply.”

What do I need to prove in order to obtain a Work Licence?

You need to prove that your loss of licence will cause either :

– extreme hardship to yourself (through loss of job, business earnings,inability to meet financial commitments etc) or

– undue hardship to some other person or persons (for example your partner and/or family who rely on your income or a person or persons who rely on you for necessary transportation and have no other alternatives available to them etc).

How soon can I apply?

It is never too soon to get your application under way.

In courts that run a daily or weekly quota for dealing with these applications, the slower you are to file your application the longer you are likely to have to wait for a hearing date.

How long will it take before I can drive again?

Applications for Work Licences in respect of certain driving charges (including alcohol related driving charges, Dangerous or reckless driving and charges involving death or injury) carry what is referred to as a mandatory 28 day stand-down period.

This means that the court may not make an order authorising the issuing of a Work Licence until after the expiration of 28 days from the date the disqualification took effect (it does not mean the application can’t be filed earlier than the 28 days have expired).

Applications involving demerit point suspensions and disqualifications on certain less serious driving charges do not carry such a stand-down period.

In any event the Court must give the Police a reasonable period of time to consider the application.

It then depends on how regularly the particular District Court in question schedules these applications to be dealt with.

Some courts only sit monthly (and therefor can only deal with these applications monthly), some schedule applications for hearing one day per week and others schedule them daily.

Some courts set a limited number of applications for a certain day and once that limit is reached applications are set down for the following week (or day as the case may be).

The 28 day stand-down aside, the majority of court applications are dealt with in the 3 to 14 day timeframe.

How far will I be able to drive?

This will be determined by the Court based on the affidavit evidence presented in support of the application.

Whether or not you are permitted to drive to and from work will depend on the availability or otherwise of practical alternative options (e.g. walking, biking, public transport etc.), as well as the nature of the work (e.g. a self employed builder needing to transport tools and materials to various job-sites with no practical alternative but to drive a work vehicle).

Whether or not you are permitted to drive during work hours will again depend on the nature of the work and/or the terms of any employment contract.

In most cases the determining factor will be whether or not you will be able to continue to work – i.e. will you lose your job or be unable to continue to operate your business if you can no longer drive.

If your employer is happy to keep you on in a non-driving role, then you would not be permitted to drive for work purposes.

The Police often argue (unreasonably in most cases) that if a self-employed business owner can afford to hire a driver to do the driving, then a work licence should not be granted.

The range within which you will be permitted to drive for work purposes will again be determined by reference to the affidavit evidence e.g. a long haul trucker might be permitted to drive throughout the entire country whereas a self-employed tradesman would be restricted to within a reasonable range of their town or city of residence.

Will any other restrictions be placed on my ability to drive?

Generally, the court will specify a restricted driving range, driving timeframe and duration, the precise vehicle or vehicles that may only be driven, record-keeping obligations and other conditions relevant to the reason the applicant lost their licence in the first place.

The restrictions are determined by the Court on a case by case basis depending on the particular circumstances of an individual applicant and the nature and extent of the hardship caused by the loss of licence i.e the driving restrictions are tailored to the specific case but generally the licence will permit the minimum degree of driving necessary to allow the applicant to stay in work (or address other proven hardship) and no more.

Do I absolutely need to involve my employer in all this?

This is a very common question particularly when the applicant has only recently landed their job and is anxious to ensure that nothing interferes with the retention of the job.

The Court application must be supported by evidence which takes the form of affidavits.

If you are asking to drive in the course of your work, it will usually be necessary to prove that you will lose your job if you are unable to drive – this is most effectively achieved with an affidavit from your employer.

We have a variety of templates for those not wishing to take this course.

Do I actually need to appear in Court and if so which Court should the application be filed in?

Yes, except in Napier and Hastings, everyone needs to appear in Court on a hearing date allocated by the Court.

If you have been disqualified by the District Court, the application must be filed in the same District Court where the sentencing took place.

If the Court grants my application will I be able to drive straight away?

No.

You must then take your copy of the sealed Court order to the nearest NZTA agency and make application to the NZTA for the Limited Licence.

A nationwide list of NZTA agency offices can be found here:

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/getting/where-to-go/index.html

Is there a fast-track process with NZTA?

Yes,

Once you have filed your application at the NZTA agency office and paid their fee it is possible to request urgent consideration of your application.

To do this you will need to provide the Agency office with a letter setting out the reasons why your Limited licence needs to be issued urgently (including the potential consequences if it is not).

Once I have my new limited licence from NZTA, is there anything else I need to do before driving? >

Yes, you should read and re-read the terms of the Court order relating to your application carefully and obtain clarification on any matter that is unclear to you.

You will need to obtain and maintain a dedicated logbook recording the detail specified in your particular order.

What happens when my disqualification or suspension is over?

You can not simply keep driving.

Your original driver’s licence has been cancelled permanently, so that in anticipation of your disqualification or suspension being over you will need to apply to NZTA for the re-issue of a driver's licence.

Here is a link to that application form:

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/application-reissue-driver-licence-dl7…

Do I need a Lawyer to make a Limited Licence application?

With very many drivers being put off the road each week throughout the country (for driving offences as well as excess demerit points) and the vast majority relying on their licence for their livelihood, Limited licence applications are a very common and relatively routine legal procedure.

Indeed there are a range of low cost and free generic template services available on the internet to assist individuals to advance their own applications.

Applicants do not need a Lawyer to represent them on these applications.

Why is Worklicence NZ the best option for anyone needing to make a Limited Licence application?

Worklicence NZ is not a Law firm and does not provide legal advice to applicants.

This means that we are able to provide customers with a more efficient, timely and cost effective solution, whilst at the same time providing a product of the highest possible quality.

The Principal of Worklicence NZ practiced as a Criminal Barrister for almost 25 years, assisting thousands of personal clients and online customers  with all manner of Limited licence application throughout that period.

Unlike Law firms we provide customers with direct access to a digital and editable document template (selected from our extensive library) that best matches their particular circumstances and enables them to apply for a limited licence with the greatest degree of flexibility possible.

Because our customers purchase and own the digital document template,  the entire process is made more efficient and the template may be re-used by the applicant at any time in the future without further cost should the need arise (which in our experience is more common that the customer initially realises).

Customers receive access to detailed guides that break down and walk them through every stage of the process.

Customers also receive variation templates that enable them to make application to the court to vary their limited licence without further cost should the need arise, which again, frequently it does (new vehicles, change in hours, employment terms etc).

Because the templates are easily and securely editable by the applicant at any time, on any device, from any location, we are able to guarantee applicants the ability to file the highest quality application with the Court on the same day they purchase our digital document templates.

You don't get any of this when dealing with a Law firm.

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the principal's first appearance as counsel in the High Court on a limited licence appeal (successful and reported).

For customers requiring legal advice in respect of a driving charge we are generally able to make a recommendation, otherwise a local Law firm may be found here:

https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/for-the-community/find-lawyer-and-organisation