Excessive speed in the ACT.

The news, in summary.

In a media release published on Sunday 19 July 2026, ACT Policing said that at about 11pm the previous night police detected a vehicle on the Tuggeranong Parkway and will allege it was travelling at 170km/h in a signposted 100km/h zone. The driver, a 17-year-old provisional licence holder, was stopped a short time later. His licence was immediately suspended, his vehicle was seized, and police said he is expected to be summonsed to appear in court at a later date.

That matter is not yet before a court and the driver is presumed innocent. What follows is about the law, not the person.

The part most people miss is the sequencing. The licence went first and the car went second, and both happened at the roadside, weeks or months before any magistrate hears the case. Neither is a punishment imposed by a court. They are automatic consequences that Parliament attached to one factual trigger: exceeding the limit by more than 45km/h. A driver who does that has already lost most of what there is to lose before the first mention date.

What is the fine for speeding in Canberra?

The offence itself is short. Section 20 of the Road Transport (Road Rules) Regulation 2017 (ACT) says a driver must not drive at a speed over the speed limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving. The maximum penalty is 20 penalty units. Under section 133 of the Legislation Act 2001 (ACT), a penalty unit for an individual is $160, so the ceiling on a court fine is $3,200.

One rule covers 5km/h over and 70km/h over. The Regulation does not create a separate offence of excessive speed. What changes as the speed climbs is not the offence but everything attached to it: the size of the infringement penalty, the demerit points, and, past 45km/h, the two automatic consequences below. A driver in that top band cannot simply pay a fine and move on, because the fine is the least of it.

Why is a licence suspended at the roadside?

Because the officer has no choice. Section 61B(1) of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT) says that if a police officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed an immediate suspension offence, the officer must give the person an immediate suspension notice. There is no discretion in the word "must".

The definition of "immediate suspension offence" in section 61A is a list. Most of it is drink and drug driving. Paragraph (i) adds a section 20 speeding offence "if the driver exceeds the speed limit applying to the driver by more than 45km/h". Paragraph (k) adds aggravated furious, reckless or dangerous driving. So a driver at 46km/h over sits in the same enforcement category as a drink driver, and is dealt with the same way at the side of the road.

The notice takes effect as soon as it is served, under section 61B(3). From that moment the licence is suspended, the driver must surrender it, the driver must not drive, and the driver is not entitled to apply for or be issued with a restricted licence during the suspension period. That last point catches people out. There is no work licence to fall back on while the suspension notice is running.

Can police seize your car for speeding in the ACT?

Yes, at the same threshold. Section 10C(1)(b) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT) lets a police officer seize a motor vehicle where the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it is being or has been used to commit a section 20 speeding offence, and that the driver exceeded the limit by more than 45km/h.

The same section also covers races and speed trials under section 5A, improper use of a motor vehicle under section 5B, failing to stop for police under section 5C, and aggravated furious, reckless or dangerous driving under section 7. Police do not have to take the car on the night. Section 10BA lets an officer instead give the responsible person a surrender notice requiring the vehicle to be brought in for impounding, and failing to comply with that notice is an offence carrying 20 penalty units.

Ownership is not the test. The section speaks to the vehicle used in the offence, so a car borrowed from a parent or an employer can be seized on the strength of someone else's driving. That is why the release provisions matter to people who were nowhere near the road that night.

How long does the suspension last, and can it be challenged?

Section 61BA sets out when a suspension notice ceases to have effect. In the ordinary case it runs until the charge is dealt with by a court, or until the prosecution tells the driver in writing that no proceeding will be brought, or until the infringement notice is withdrawn. There is a longstop called the maximum suspension time: 90 days in the general case, and 180 days where an infringement notice was given and the driver did not dispute it.

The only way to shorten it is a stay. Section 61F lets a person served with a suspension notice apply to the Magistrates Court for a stay of its operation. The application must be filed within 28 days of service, and it needs two documents: a notice setting out the grounds, and an affidavit in support. Miss the 28 days and the route closes.

The test is the hard part, and it is where most applications fail. Under section 61G(2), the court must not stay the notice unless satisfied that exceptional circumstances justify it. Section 61G(3) tells the court what to weigh: the risk to the safety of other road users, the applicant's need for a licence, the matters contained in the suspension notice, and anything else the court considers relevant. Needing a licence for work is not on its own exceptional, because almost every applicant says it. The applications that succeed tend to pair a genuine hardship with something that lowers the safety risk, and they are supported by evidence rather than assertion.

Section 61G(4) draws a line worth understanding. On a stay application the court must not decide the guilt or innocence of the driver, and must not decide the penalty. The stay hearing is about the suspension only. Arguing the merits of the speed reading there is a waste of the one chance to get the licence back.

What happens to the car if the charge is proved?

This is the consequence that does the real damage, and it is the one least discussed. Section 10AA(3) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 defines an "impounding offence", and paragraph (f) includes a section 20 speeding offence committed at more than 45km/h over the limit.

If a court convicts a person of an impounding offence, or finds the offence proved, section 10B(2) applies to the vehicle used. For a first offender it is impounded for three months. For a repeat offender it is forfeited to the Territory. Forfeiture means the car is gone. A second excessive speed offence at any time in the past is enough to make a driver a repeat offender under section 10AA(2).

The court can soften this. Section 10B(3) lets it specify a shorter period of impounding, dispense with impounding altogether, or commute a forfeiture to a period of impounding, to avoid excessive hardship or other injustice to anyone. In deciding, section 10B(4) requires the court to have regard to the circumstances of the offence, including the risk to the safety of road users. Any period the car was already held counts towards the impounding period under section 10B(6). Parliament also made the position on appeals plain: under section 10B(9) and (10), impounding or forfeiture is in addition to any other penalty, and is treated as part of the penalty for the purpose of an appeal.

Before that point there are two release routes for a car already seized. Section 10G allows an application to the chief police officer, who must release the vehicle once the retention period has ended and any fees are paid, and who may release it earlier if satisfied the applicant is entitled to possession, did not commit or consent to the offence, and could not reasonably have known the car would be used that way. Section 10H allows an application to the Magistrates Court on similar grounds. Those are the provisions a parent or an employer needs when someone else's driving has taken their vehicle.

Will a P1 driver be suspended for any speeding offence?

Not for any speeding offence. The ACT scheme is built on the 45km/h threshold, not on the class of licence, so a provisional driver and a full licence holder are treated alike for the immediate suspension and the seizure.

Provisional drivers are still worse off, for a different reason. A probationary or provisional licence carries a lower demerit point limit than a full licence, so a speeding offence that a full licence holder absorbs can push a provisional driver over the limit and bring separate licence action by the road transport authority. A driver in that position can face the suspension notice and a demerit suspension running on two separate tracks, and dealing with one does not deal with the other.

Does excessive speeding go on a criminal record?

Speeding under section 20 is a criminal offence, not a civil penalty. Paying an infringement notice is not a conviction and leaves no record of one. Once the matter goes to court and the offence is proved, the court decides whether to convict.

In the ACT the court can find an offence proved without recording a conviction, under section 17 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005. That is the outcome worth aiming at for a young driver or anyone whose work depends on a clean record. It is not given lightly at 70km/h over a 100km/h limit, and the argument has to be built on the driver's history, the circumstances, and what a conviction would actually cost them. We have written about what a poorly run plea costs in the ACT in our note on the hidden cost of a bad plea.

What happens if the driver is under 18?

The charge goes to the Childrens Court, not the ordinary Magistrates Court list. Under section 287 of the Magistrates Court Act 1930 (ACT), the Magistrates Court is known as the Childrens Court when it is constituted by a Childrens Court Magistrate exercising the jurisdiction given by section 288. Section 288(1)(a) gives that court jurisdiction over any criminal proceeding against a person for a summary offence where the person was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence.

That matters, because the sentencing approach for a young person is different, and youth is a real consideration on the question of whether to record a conviction. What does not change is the roadside consequence. Neither the suspension notice under section 61B nor the seizure power under section 10C depends on the driver's age. A 17-year-old loses the licence and the car on the same terms as a 40-year-old, and the stay application under section 61F runs on the same 28-day clock.

What we do for clients facing these charges.

The first thing is the calendar. The stay application under section 61F has a hard 28-day limit from service of the notice, and it is the only way to get a licence back before the charge is dealt with. Anyone who wants to keep driving needs advice inside that window, not after the first mention.

Then the reading. Speed is usually proved by an approved device, and the ACT also allows point to point evidence under section 24A, which lets the prosecution rely on the average speed between two detection points as evidence of actual speed. Section 24B preserves other forms of proof. Whether a device was approved, correctly used and properly tested is a question of fact, and the distance between the alleged speed and the threshold decides whether the whole automatic scheme applies at all. A reading of 44km/h over and a reading of 46km/h over produce completely different consequences.

Then the car, including where it belongs to someone else, using the release provisions in sections 10G and 10H and the hardship power in section 10B(3). Then the conviction question under section 17 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005. And a warning worth repeating: driving while the suspension notice is running is a fresh offence under section 61C, it is strict liability, and it turns a licence problem into a much worse one.

Frequently asked.

What is the fine for speeding in Canberra?

The offence is section 20 of the Road Transport (Road Rules) Regulation 2017 (ACT), which says a driver must not drive at a speed over the speed limit applying to them. The maximum penalty is 20 penalty units. A penalty unit for an individual is $160 under section 133 of the Legislation Act 2001 (ACT), so the maximum court fine is $3,200. Most speeding is dealt with by infringement notice at a much lower fixed amount. It is the driver who exceeds the limit by more than 45km/h who ends up in court.

Does excessive speeding go on a criminal record?

A speeding offence under section 20 of the Road Rules is a criminal offence, and a conviction for it is recorded. Paying an infringement notice is not a conviction. Once the matter is in court, the driver can ask the court not to record a conviction, and in the ACT that is done under section 17 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005. Whether the court agrees turns on the seriousness of the driving and the driver's history.

How long does an immediate licence suspension last in the ACT?

The notice runs until one of the events in section 61BA of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT) happens, which usually means the charge is dealt with by a court. There is a longstop. The maximum suspension time is 90 days in the ordinary case, and 180 days where an infringement notice was given and the driver did not dispute it. A suspension can also end early if the Magistrates Court grants a stay.

Can police seize your car for speeding in the ACT?

Yes, where the driver exceeded the limit by more than 45km/h. Section 10C(1)(b) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT) lets a police officer seize a motor vehicle if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it was used to commit a section 20 speeding offence at more than 45km/h over the limit. Police can also give the responsible person a surrender notice under section 10BA instead of seizing the car on the spot.

Will a P1 driver be suspended for any speeding offence?

Not for any speeding offence. The immediate suspension in the ACT is tied to the 45km/h threshold, not to the class of licence, so it catches a provisional driver and a full licence holder the same way. Provisional drivers are exposed on a second front, because a probationary or provisional licence carries a lower demerit point limit, and reaching that limit brings separate action by the road transport authority.

Can police estimate your speed in Australia?

Speed is usually proved by an approved speed measuring device. The ACT also allows point to point evidence. Under section 24A of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999, the prosecution may rely on the average speed of a vehicle between two detection points as evidence of its actual speed between those points. Section 24B makes clear that section 24A does not exclude other forms of proof of speed.

What happens if you drive while the suspension notice is in effect?

That is a separate offence under section 61C of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT), with a maximum of 20 penalty units. It is a strict liability offence, so the prosecution does not have to prove the driver meant to break the suspension. Failing to surrender the licence when required is also an offence under section 61D, again 20 penalty units and strict liability.

What happens if the driver is under 18?

The charge is heard in the Childrens Court. Under sections 287 and 288 of the Magistrates Court Act 1930 (ACT), the Magistrates Court is known as the Childrens Court when a Childrens Court Magistrate exercises the jurisdiction to hear a criminal proceeding against a person who was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence. The immediate suspension and the vehicle seizure still apply, because neither depends on age.

To speak to a criminal defence lawyer, call Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019.

This article is written by Aaron Kernaghan, criminal defence lawyer at Good Legal Lawyers, as at 20 July 2026. It is commentary and reflects the personal opinion of the author only. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice on your own matter, and it does not purport to be accurate or complete. Any matter referred to may be before the court and any person charged is presumed innocent. For advice on a specific matter, contact Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.

More criminal-law commentary by Aaron Kernaghan.

Sources: Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT), ss 61A, 61B, 61BA, 61C, 61D, 61F, 61G · Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT), ss 10AA, 10B, 10BA, 10C, 10E, 10G, 10H, 24A, 24B · Road Transport (Road Rules) Regulation 2017 (ACT), s 20 · Legislation Act 2001 (ACT), s 133 · Magistrates Court Act 1930 (ACT), ss 287, 288 · ACT Policing media release, 19 July 2026

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