Hi there. In Western Australia, the police, or a court, may only impound or confiscate a vehicle if the driver has committed a certain offence under the road laws. Whether a vehicle is impounded or confiscated will depend on the nature of the offence and whether there have been any previous offences of a similar kind. The relevant offences are split into three categories: driving offences, driver’s licence offences and road rage offences. Crimes outside these categories are unlikely to result in confiscation of a vehicle.

The police have the power to impound a vehicle, but do not have the power to confiscate a vehicle. Only a court can do this. A court may order the confiscation of a vehicle in relation to an offence that falls under one of the above three categories. In your case, the driver of your vehicle must be found to have committed an offence under one of these categories, otherwise it is unlikely that the police or a court will have the power to do anything with the vehicle. If the driver is found to have committed such an offence, and has previously committed similar offences, the police may apply to the court for the vehicle to be confiscated.

The police and courts generally consider the person responsible for a vehicle to be the person whose name the vehicle is licensed under. While you may have paid for the vehicle, and owned it up until recently, as you have said that it was licensed in the driver’s name at the relevant time, the police and courts will most likely only consider that person’s conduct and previous driving history when determining whether to confiscate the vehicle.

Suggested way forward

A vehicle can only be impounded and confiscated if a particular crime has been committed and a court has ordered its confiscation. You should speak to a criminal lawyer about the court process involved in challenging the decision to confiscate your vehicle. By pressing the “Consult a Lawyer” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.