Suspended licence, drug driving: Shepparton man’s costly mistake

The court heard Phillips tested positive to methamphetamines in a drug test after police stopped him in Corio St, Shepparton at 2am on April 6, 2023.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Kerrie Thomson said Phillips showed police a Queensland driver’s licence, but it had been suspended, which made him an unlicensed driver in Victoria.

When questioned by police, Phillips said he did not realise his licence was suspended.

He also told police he didn’t think the methamphetamines would still be in his system.

Phillips’s solicitor, Shana McDonald, said her client had just returned to live in Victoria after five years living in Queensland.

Ms McDonald said, in Queensland, your licence could be suspended if you didn’t make a payment and that is what had happened.

She told the court Phillips had made the payment on the day the matter went to court.

Phillips was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.