Published 2025
Drink driving spent conviction WA | Aspiring pilot’s career protected
Perrella Legal successfully obtained a spent conviction order for an aspiring commercial pilot who pleaded guilty to a drink-driving offence in Western Australia.
After two years of intensive aviation training, our client was approaching the start of his professional flying career when he was charged following a roadside breath test. Concerned about the potential consequences of a recorded conviction, he sought legal representation.
We prepared comprehensive sentencing submissions, supported by character references and evidence of the client’s remorse, rehabilitation and career aspirations. The Magistrate ultimately granted the application for a spent conviction order.
The potential impact on a commercial pilot’s career
Our client was a young man with aspirations of becoming a commercial pilot. After two years of intensive training and examination, our client was on the brink of securing his wings.
A potential obstacle struck one night, when our client was stopped by police whilst driving on his way home, and was required to submit to a random breathalyser test. Our client acknowledged he had consumed alcohol earlier in the night, however, the blood alcohol content reading which was much higher than he had anticipated.
Our client was prepared to plead guilty to the charge. He was deeply concerned about the impact of a recorded conviction on his career, given the nature of the offence, and the possible inferences which could be drawn from potential employers as to his character and reliability.
It is notoriously difficult to succeed on an application for a Spent Conviction Order at sentencing, where the relevant offending is traffic or drink-driving related. It is rarely the case that a traffic conviction will genuinely hinder a person’s ability to maintain or secure employment or cause a person to suffer any other detriment. In other instances, the Court may even consider it is in the interests of the community that the conviction be recorded.
Undeterred by the challenge ahead, we prepared comprehensive submissions and collated numerous character references, each highlighting our client’s genuine remorse, his otherwise exemplary character, and the impact of a recorded conviction on his future prospects. At sentencing, the Magistrate was persuaded on the evidence presented, to exercise his discretion to grant the application for a spent conviction order.