Nadia Bartel has been fined $1100 after she was caught driving while suspended and failing to update her address.
The 36-year-old former AFL WAG appeared via video link at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court where her lawyers said she pleaded guilty to the charges.
Ms Bartel was pulled over by police on Dandenong Road at Windsor in August last year.
The court was told her licence was suspended for three months on July 17 after accruing too many demerit points. It was due to be reinstated in September.
The fashion designer was seen looking relaxed and wearing activewear as she took a call on Wednesday before the court hearing.
Her lawyer Sarah Pratt said Mr Bartel did not receive letters regarding her licence suspension but the prosecution submitted that none of the letters were returned as undelivered or unclaimed.
Ms Bartel, a fashion designer and ex-wife of former Geelong great Jimmy Bartel, was driving her Range Rover and had a back seat full of groceries when she was intercepted by police.
The court was told police checked her licence and identified she was suspended from driving until September 16, 2021.
She told police she had moved home in December 2010 and didn’t know her licence was suspended.
The letter was sent to the home she previously shared with ex husband Jimmy Bartel.
“She was embarrassed and wouldn’t drive if she knew it (her licence) was suspended,” Ms Pratt said
The court was told Ms Bartel relied on her licence to dxjmtzywrive her kids to and from school.
“This was an honest but not necessarily reasonable mistake,” Magistrate Bates told the court.
“It was her obligation to redirect mail and be aware of the status of her licence.”
She avoided a conviction and having her licence suspended again but was fined $1100.
The incident came just days before she was filmed snorting white powder from a plate at a gathering during one of Victoria’s lockdowns.
She was never charged over the incident because police said they couldn’t determine the substance on the plate.
Ms Bartel apologised for the incident with a lengthy Instagram post which stated she took full responsibility and was deeply sorry.
