Can I drive interstate Are there Conditions

I have frequently been asked about the differences between states (NSW & QLD) for License Conditions, namely, with Learners and Provisional driver licence condition. I provide this information free of charge, on the comparison between NSW and QLD only as I am licensed to teach driving in both states and have worked in both states as a Police officer.

The short and basic version is this:

A driver’s licence holder may have conditions on their licence they are required to comply with when they drive a motor vehicle on a road or road related area. Some conditions will be printed on the licence, others apply to Learner and Provisional licence holders that may not be on the licence, but apply regarding speed, passenger, and alcohol limits.

So, wherever you drive, you are to drive in compliance with the licence conditions that apply to your licence and you, in the State or Territory that the licence was issued in. NSW P1 must not exceed 90km/h even if driving in QLD and must display P plates fitted to the front and rear of the vehicle, with no part of the plate/lettering obscured.

Now to break it down more for those who like details, let’s have a look at Licence Conditions:

You may have conditions you need to comply with in order to obtain and retain your driver’s licence. These can be indicated on the licence itself; others may be relative to your licence type (Learner, Provisional, Heavy Vehicle etc).

The condition is represented by a letter that will be on the front of the licence, with the wording on the rear of the licence. The licence holder MUST comply with all conditions that apply to their licence no matter where they drive.

(S)– Must wear glasses or contact’s while driving.

(A)– May only drive Automatic Vehicles.

(P)– May only drive with 1 passenger at any time for 12 months (usually initiated after a obtaining your licence after period of licence disqualification).

Other conditions for novice drivers (Learners and Provisional licence holders) are explained in the Road Users Handbook(NSW) and Q-Safe manual(QLD).

These include the requirement to:

• Have Zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) while driving
• Display L/P plates front and rear of the vehicle, clearly visible with no part of the lettering obscured. (QLD can place them inside the window, NSW cannot. Either way, they MUST be fully visible at 20 metres).
• Provisional drivers under 25 years old, must only drive with 1 passenger under 21 between 11pm and 5am.
• Provisional driver are not permitted to drive ‘restricted’ vehicles, also referred to a prohibited vehicles such as high powered turbo (petrol), V8 etc.

Another restriction for NSW novice drivers is the speed restriction:

Learners = maximum speed of 90km/h.

Provisional P1= maximum speed of 90km/h.

Provisional P2= maximum speed of 100km/h

QLD licence holders to NOT have this speed restriction. So, what does that all mean when we want to drive across the border? It means that whatever conditions apply to your driver’s licence from the issuing state or territory, MUST be obeyed at all times while driving on any road in Australia and beyond.

So, QLD L and P plate licence holders CAN drive in other states/territories at the state speed limit. NSW L and P plates licence holder CAN drive in other states/territories but must COMPLY WITH THEIR LICENCE CONDITIONS including speed limits.

For drivers in NSW with an Interstate Drivers Licence:

96   Interstate and international visitors<(Link to legislation)

(1)  A visiting driver who holds—

(a)  a current Australian driver licence or learner licence (including a New Zealand driver licence or learner licence) issued by a driver licensing authority in another jurisdiction, or

(b)  a current foreign driver licence and international driving permit, or

(c)  a current foreign driver licence that is written in English or is accompanied by an English translation,

that authorises its holder to drive a motor vehicle of a particular kind may drive a motor vehicle of that kind in this State, and is exempt from NSW driver licence holding requirements in relation to driving that particular kind of motor vehicle.

For drivers in QLD with an Interstate Drivers Licence:

207  Non-Queensland driver licence holders must comply with conditions<(Link to legislation)

The holder of a non-Queensland driver licence who is driving on a Queensland road under the licence must comply with a condition of the licence.

NSW & QLD share similar legislation after the Australian Road Rules was implemented in 2000, though it was then broken up and individualised by each state to make it their own – great job at nationalising the rules.

Overall, the Learner Licence and Provisional Licence are defined in all legislation and accepted nationally. Though NSW has additional legislation in the Road Rules 2014, to identify that a NSW issued Learner and Provisional drivers licence has it’s own restrictions, namely the speed limits applying to each licence holder. As these are conditions placed upon the NSW licence, they must be obeyed when driving in any road in Australia.

This also does apply to overseas travel, though I am unsure if anyone in Bali, Canada, Sweden, or California would be familiar with the rules in order to report a breach. Below we look at a few scenarios:

• Reporting a breach – If you drive in NSW on a NSW licence and breach your conditions, you will receive penalty and demerit points (if applicable) relevant to the NSW legislation for failing to comply with the Specific Condition (Auto only, Glasses, Passengers, Exceed speed etc).
• If you drive on an Interstate Licence in ANY state or jurisdiction and you are detected driving in contravention of a licence condition that applies to you, any breach reported will incur a penalty that is relevant in that jurisdiction, for failing to comply with licence conditions.
  • NSW P1 driving at speed, if reported, will be fined for‘P1 exceed special speed limit’ and receive a minimum of 4 points and a financial penalty.
  • NSW P1 driving at speed, if reported in QLD, will be fined for Exceeding Speed Limitand receive the QLD fine for that.
    • However – As the speed restriction is NSW legislation, the P1 driver will NOT be fined for P1 exceed special speed limit. They will just be fined for exceeding the speed limit, though if the officer is switched on, they may be fined also for not complying with their licence conditions. This is usually a lower fine and 1 or 0 points.
  • QLD P1 licence holder detected not complying with licence conditions (P plates, Glasses, Auto etc) in NSW, if reported, will expect a fine for not complying with licence conditions, with the NSW fine and any points relevant. The fine cannot be ‘not comply with Provisional licence conditions – no P plates’ as those conditions only apply to the NSW issued licences as the conditions applicable to the QLD licence are under QLD laws, so the generic breach of not complying with licence conditionsis issued.

For those still reading and interested, here is the legislation regarding Learner and Provisional licence speed limits in NSW. Across most other legislation, they define what is Learner and Provisional licence, usually accepted Australia wide. NSW, however, defines in Section 4 of the Road Transport Act 2013, what a Learner, Provisional, Provisional P1 and Provisional P2 licence are, to differentiate from other jurisdictions and thereby apply specific conditions to NSW novice drivers.

Road rules 2014<(Link to Legislation).

24–1   NSW rule: speed limits for learner and provisional licence holders

(1) Speed limit applying to learner driversThe speed limit applying for any length of road to a driver who is the holder of a learner licence issued in New South Wales is90 kilometers per hour, unless another lesser speed limit applies to the driver for the length of road under another rule of this part.

Note. Lengthof road is defined in the Dictionary, and learner licenceis defined in the Act.

(2) Speed limit applying to P1 provisional driversThe speed limit applying for any length of road to a driver who is the holder of a provisional P1 licence is 90 kilometers per hour, unless another lesser speed limit applies to the driver for the length of road under another rule of this part.

Note.Provisional P1 licenceis defined in the Dictionary.

(3) Speed limit applying to P2 provisional driversThe speed limit applying for any length of road to a driver who is the holder of a provisional P2 licence is 100 kilometers per hour, unless another lesser speed limit applies to the driver for the length of road under another rule of this part.

Note.Provisional P2 licenceis defined in the Dictionary.

(4) Rule applies despite greater speed limitsThis rule has effect despite any other rule in this Part that specifies a speed limit applying to a driver for a length of road that is greater than the speed limit applying to the driver under this rule.

Note.This rule is an additional NSW road rule. There is no corresponding rule in the Australian Road Rules.

I hope you found this helpful, please reach out if further clarification is required, happy to discuss.

Regards,

Brad