A South Australian woman who checked herself into a rehabilitation program says she would not have gone had she known her licence would be suspended as a result.
Sonia* said she self-referred to an alcohol rehabilitation program last year, and found the six-day stay helpful.
"I went there in November just because I felt like I was drinking too much and for personal reasons," she told ABC Radio Adelaide's Stacey Lee and Nikolai Beilharz.
She said she received a letter in the mail three months later, stating that her licence had been suspended for medical reasons.
"Which I have no idea what they based it on," she said.
Sonia said she had a consultation with a doctor at the end of her stay at rehab, and it was mentioned that driving "could be a bit of a problem".
"She said something about my licence, I don't really remember, I don't actually remember her saying anything but obviously she did," she said.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport said medical practitioners were required by law to advise the Registrar of Motor Vehicles if they assess a person as being medically unfit to safely drive a vehicle.
"Among the medical conditions that can affect a person's ability to hold a drivers licence is alcohol or drug dependency," the spokesperson said.
"If a person does not meet the fitness to drive assessment, the registrar is required to notify them that their licence needs to be suspended due to the road safety risks presented by their medical condition.
"Once the person is assessed by their medical practitioner as being fit to drive again, the licence is reinstated."
But Sonia said her regular doctor had recommended she have an assessment in Adelaide, a three-hour drive from her home.
She said the assessment would cost her $500, and the earliest available appointment was in three weeks' time.
"I can't really afford it ... but if you don't, you're screwed," she said.
The suspension has had a significant impact on Sonia, who said she had no previous driving offences.
"I live in a regional town and I have to drive for work to make money, so it's a bit of a problem," she said.
Sonia said while the rehab program worked for her, she would not have gone if she knew her licence would be affected.
"Who would go to rehab if they knew they were going to get stopped from driving, who would go?" she said.
"I would never go. I mean, I was trying to do something good, I was trying to feel better and be better and I get punished.
"I think the system is strangely skewed."
