Paulini's driving shocker: Pop star, 41, banned from getting behind the wheel as her atrocious road record during '20 years on L plates' comes to light (including paying bribes for a driving licence)

Singer Paulini has been banned again, six years after she was convicted of bribing a government official to obtain a driver's license.

The former Australian Idol contestant, whose first album debuted at number one on the ARIA charts and went platinum, pleaded guilty to driving while suspended.

The 41-year-old failed to appear in Sutherland Local Court and was not legally represented when the case was heard in her absence late last month.

Magistrate Holly Kemp fined Paulini $300 and disqualified her from driving for three months from November 28.

The songwriter, whose full name is Paulini Waninoke Curuenavuli first tasted fame in 2003 when she came fourth in the first season of Australian Idol.

Her career and personal life have seen highs and lows since then, but her record behind the wheel has always been abysmal.

Paulini spent almost two decades on apprenticeships and committed a series of driving offenses before finally passing her driving test in May 2021.

Six years ago, Paulini was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to bribing a government official to unlawfully obtain a driver's license.

At the time, court documents revealed the Fijian-born artist had committed 11 driving offenses since she first got her driver's license in November 2002.

During that time, she was caught three times for driving unaccompanied while still in possession of her driver's license, speeding (three times) and not showing her L license plate (also three times).

Paulini was charged with driving with a suspended license and driving with an expired license. She was disqualified for a total of 15 months and amassed $4,117 in fines.

Paulini pleaded guilty to bribery at Mount Druitt Local Court in September 2017 and was convicted in December that year.

The court heard she paid a Roads and Maritime Services worker $850 for an unrestricted driving license in July 2016 after her learner's permit was revoked three months earlier.

The crime of bribery carried a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and Paulini was required to be of good behavior for six months.

The former Australian Idol contestant has pleaded guilty to driving while suspended. She failed to appear at Sutherland Local Court and the case was heard in her absence

An appeal against the severity of the sentence was withdrawn from the court in February 2018 after Judge Jane Culver warned that Paulini was considering a harsher sentence for the crime.

After finding fame on Australian Idol, Paulini claimed that a difficult period in her life led her to make bad choices, including bribing the RMS official.

“I have gone through a very traumatic breakup after a tumultuous relationship,” she wrote in a letter submitted to the court.

'I'm ashamed to say that this wasn't the first relationship that involved domestic violence and low self-esteem.

'In addition to the breakdown of my relationship, my failed album release had cost me my savings and my relationship with the record label.'

Claiming that she was on the brink of homelessness, Paulini revealed that she had been forced to move in with her parents, who she had supported financially throughout her career.

“I was completely overwhelmed and did not feel like a role model for my family or fans,” she wrote to the court.

“Not having a driver's license…was yet another layer to my lack of self-esteem.”

Paulini described her decision to bribe the official as “foolish” and asked her fans for forgiveness.

Paulini announced in a May 2021 Facebook post that she had finally legally obtained a driver's license, accompanied by a photo of her with a new car (above)

At the time, she played the lead role of Rachel Marron in a musical production of The Bodyguard at the Lyric Theatre.

In May 2021, Paulini announced that she had legally obtained a driver's license in a Facebook post with a photo of her new Audi.

“So something happened,” she wrote. “This time I did it the right way… The legal way. I got my driver's license, I took the test, I took the driving test and I passed.'

“I can't tell you how powerful it feels to have done this. I learned to trust my own abilities.

“On the last try, I didn't have the confidence that I could do it… I was so wracked with fear… (So I tried to buy one… and we all know how that turned out).”

'A huge thank you to my driving tester, you made me feel comfortable in my own skin.

'It's a new day! Give me a wave if you see me on the road.'