In New South Wales, section 14 of Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act grants Police power to require disclosure of driver or passenger/s identity. The police can only exercise this power if they reasonably believe that the vehicle was used in the commission of indictable offences. Indictable offences are offences that carry a minimum sentence of two years imprisonment and are usually dealt with in the District Court and Supreme Court.
Under these powers the Police can require:
- The driver to disclose his/ her identity and the identity of any passengers in the vehicle at any time the vehicle might have been used;
- The passenger to disclose his/ her identity and the identity of the driver or any other passengers at any time the vehicle might have been used; and/or
- The owner to disclose the identity of any drivers or passengers at any time the vehicle might have been used.
Failure to comply with any Police request above is an offence punishable by maximum fines of $5,500 and/or 12-month imprisonment under section 17 of the Act.
Section 17 of the Act makes it an offence to fail to provide the information. It is not an offence if there is a reasonable excuse for not providing the information. If the owner/ driver does not know the identity/s of the driver or passengers, section 17 of the Act requires the owner to provide as much information as possible in order to identify the driver/passenger.
Police in New South Wales also have the power to compel the owner of a vehicle to disclose the identity of the driver who has committed an offence in contravention of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).
This power is granted by section 173 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). The Act requires that the owner or any person ‘responsible’ for the vehicle is to disclose the identity of the driver that has committed the offence. The disclosure is to be in written form to the authorised officer and must contain the driver’s name, address and must be signed by the owner or ‘responsible’ person. Failure to disclose the identity of the driver is an offence punishable by a maximum fine of $2,200.
If the owner or the responsible person did not know and with reasonable diligence could not know the identity of the driver, to the court’s satisfaction, then the offence is not made out.
Pannu Lawyers are located conveniently close to Blacktown Local Court and appear daily in Local Court of NSW, District Court of NSW and the Supreme Court of NSW. If you are charged with criminal offences and/or traffic offences, call our office on 02 9920 1787 to make an appointment.
