How Old Do You Have to Be to Drive in Australia? Learner to Full Licence

You can start learning to drive in Australia at 16 in every state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory, where the minimum driving age drops to 15 years and 9 months. Every jurisdiction uses a graduated licensing system, so the age you can drive depends on which stage you are asking about: supervised learner, provisional (P-plate) driver, or fully licensed. The earliest you can drive unsupervised is 17 in states like New South Wales and Queensland, and 18 in Victoria.¹²³

How Old You Have To Be For a Learner Permit

The learner permit, or “Ls,” is the first step and lets you drive on public roads with a supervising driver in the passenger seat. In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory, you can apply at 16.¹ The ACT is the outlier, letting you apply at 15 years and 9 months.²

Age alone is not enough. To be issued a learner permit you also need to pass a knowledge test on road rules and traffic signs, pass an eyesight test, provide identity documents, and pay the application fee.⁴ Some states now let you complete the knowledge component online before visiting a service centre; Queensland’s version, called PrepL, is delivered as a self-paced online course.¹

Once you have your Ls, you have to display L-plates front and rear and drive with a fully licensed supervisor next to you, and every state and territory requires learner drivers to maintain a zero blood alcohol concentration.²⁵

How Old You Have To Be To Drive Solo

Driving without a supervisor requires a provisional licence, usually called P-plates. Most states split this into a P1 stage (red plates) and a P2 stage (green plates). To move onto your Ps, you first have to hold your learner permit for a minimum period, log the required supervised hours, and pass a hazard perception test and a practical driving test.

The minimum age for a P1 licence is 17 in New South Wales and Queensland.¹ Victoria is stricter: you cannot apply for a probationary licence there until you are 18.³

How long you have to hold your Ls before sitting the practical test also depends on where you live. In Western Australia, you need to have held the learner permit for at least six months and be at least 16 years and 6 months old before sitting the hazard perception test.⁶ In New South Wales, the hazard perception test opens up after 10 months on your Ls.⁷

Supervised hour requirements before the practical test vary too, and they matter for how quickly you actually reach the age at which you can drive alone:

New South Wales: 120 hours, including 20 at night, if under 25.⁸
Victoria: 120 hours, including 20 at night, if under 21.³
Queensland: 100 hours in the learner logbook, if under 25.¹
South Australia: 75 hours, including 15 at night.⁹

Older learners get a break. New South Wales and Queensland both exempt learners aged 25 and over from logging any hours at all, though more practice is still recommended.⁸¹

P-plate drivers face lower speed caps, tighter demerit point thresholds, and a zero blood alcohol limit regardless of age. In New South Wales, for example, P1 drivers are limited to 90 km/h and P2 drivers to 100 km/h.⁷ The zero BAC rule applies to every learner and provisional driver in the country, so a 30-year-old on a P2 licence still cannot have any alcohol in their system.⁵

How Old You Have To Be For a Full Licence

A full (unrestricted) licence removes P-plates, speed caps, and the zero BAC rule, and moves you onto the standard demerit point threshold that applies to all drivers. In most states you do not have to sit another driving test; you simply apply for the upgrade once you have completed the required time on your provisional licence.

The earliest age you can reach a full licence differs by state:

Queensland: 20, after holding P2 for at least two years.¹
New South Wales: around 20, after 24 months on P2.¹⁰
Victoria: 22 at the earliest for drivers who start their probationary period at 18, because that period runs four years — 12 months on P1 plus three years on P2.³

Victoria is the state where young drivers wait longest. Starting your Ls at 16, passing your test at 18, and completing the full probationary sequence means you are 22 before every restriction lifts.

Age Milestones by State and Territory

Because each jurisdiction sets its own rules, the pathway can look quite different depending on where you live. The main age markers are:

ACT: learner at 15 years 9 months.²
New South Wales: learner at 16; P1 at 17; full licence after 24 months on P2.⁸
Victoria: learner at 16; probationary licence at 18; full licence after a four-year probationary period.¹¹
Queensland: learner at 16; P1 at 17; open licence at 20.¹
South Australia: learner at 16.⁹
Western Australia: learner at 16; hazard perception test eligible at 16 years 6 months.⁶
Tasmania: learner at 16.¹²
Northern Territory: learner at 16.¹³

Requirements change periodically, so it is worth checking your transport authority’s website for the current rules before you apply.

Driving in Australia on an Overseas Licence

Age rules for Australian licences do not apply the same way if you already hold a valid overseas licence and are visiting on a temporary visa. Most states let you keep driving on that licence indefinitely as long as it stays current, though New South Wales and Victoria limit this to six months, and the Northern Territory limits it to three months.¹⁴

You have to carry your overseas licence at all times while driving, along with either an international driving permit or an official English translation if your licence is not in English, and you can only drive the vehicle classes your overseas licence authorises.¹⁴

Once you become a permanent resident or Australian citizen, you have to convert to an Australian licence. Timeframes vary by state; New South Wales, for instance, requires permanent residents to obtain a local licence within three months. Drivers from recognised countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada can often convert without taking a knowledge or driving test, provided their licence is current or has expired within the last five years.

1
Queensland Government. Driver Licence Progression
2
Access Canberra. Get Your Learner Driver Licence
3
VicRoads. Getting Your Ps
4
Service NSW. Apply for a Learner Driver Licence
5
Austroads. Drivers Legal BAC Limits
6
Transport WA. Hazard Perception Test (HPT)
7
Transport for NSW. P1 and P2 Drivers
8
Transport for NSW. Learner Drivers
9
SA.GOV.AU. Apply for Your Provisional Licence (Ps)
10
Service NSW. Get a NSW Driver Licence
11
VicRoads. How to Get Your Ls
12
Plates Plus Tasmania. Summary of Novice Car Licensing Pathway
13
NT.GOV.AU. Get Your Driver Licence
14
Austroads. Drivers Visiting Australia or New Zealand