Learner and provisional driver safety

Pre-Learner Licence Course and Road Rules Knowledge Test

The Pre-Learner Licence Course is a 10-hour course that educates new drivers about safe driving practices and road laws. You must successfully complete the course and pass the Road Rules Knowledge Test to be eligible to apply for an ACT learner driver licence. The course is taught by most ACT schools free of charge as part of the Year 10 curriculum. It is also available from the following approved training providers in the ACT:

• Belconnen Youth Centre
• Canberra Institute of Technology
• Fifth Gear Motoring
• Lotus Driving School Canberra
• Multicultural Hub Canberra
• Northside Community Service
• Online Driving Courses
• Pinnacle Driving School
• Road Ready Centre

Read the ACT Road Rules Handbook [PDF 5.5 MB] [DOCX 4.7 MB] to prepare for the Road Rules Knowledge Test and to understand the road rules that apply when driving in the ACT.

Applying for a learner driver licence

Visit an Access Canberra Service Centre to apply for a learner driver licence and provide:

• proof of identity and residency
• Pre-Learner Licence Course and Road Rules Knowledge Test certificates
• eye test
• payment of licence fee.

You will receive your learner licence, logbook and set of L plates in the mail from Access Canberra.

For more information see getting your learner driver licence on the Access Canberra website.

Conditions for learner drivers and supervising drivers

As a learner car licence holder, you have no passenger restrictions but you must always drive with a supervising driver in the front passenger seat. You must also:

• display L plates at the front and rear of the vehicle correctly
• not use a mobile device (including hands-free or loud speaker) while driving, or while your vehicle is stopped but not parked
• not tow a trailer greater than 750 kilograms
• not have any alcohol or drugs in your system while driving
• comply with ACT road rules
• adhere to a 4 demerit point limit (if you reach or exceed 4 demerit points in a 3-year period, your learner licence may be suspended or disqualified).

Your supervising driver must:

• sit in the front passenger seat
• hold a valid full Australian driver’s licence
• not exceed the zero blood alcohol limit or have any drugs in their system.

Requirements for a provisional driver licence

To apply for an ACT provisional car licence, you must meet the following requirements.

1. Age and licence requirements

You must be 17 years or older and have held your learner licence for:

• a minimum of 12 months or
• 6 months if aged 25 years or older at the time your licence was issued.

2. Hazard Perception Test

You must complete the online Hazard Perception Test as part of your learner licence requirements. You cannot attempt it until after 3 months of having your Ls. Your first attempt is free. If you fail the first time you will need to wait 24 hours and pay a fee to retake the test.

3. Driving hours

To get your Ps you need to practice driving and do a minimum of 100 driving hours including 10 hours at night. If you were 25 years or older when your ACT learner licence was issued then you only need to do 50 driving hours including 5 hours at night.

If you complete driving lessons with an ACT accredited driving instructor, you will be credited 3 hours for each hour of supervised driving, up to a maximum of 10 hours. All other driving hours are counted one for one, as are hours driven with non-accredited instructors. You can also get credit towards required driving hours by completing any optional training courses: Safer Driving, Vulnerable Road User and Learner Driver First Aid.

4. Driving assessment

After you have completed your required driving hours and held your learner licence for the minimum required time, you will need to either do a one-off assessment or complete the competency based training and assessment as follows:

• One-off practical driving assessment by an ACT Government Licence Examiner: This occurs in your own vehicle and you must be at least 17 years old on the day of assessment. Contact Access Canberra to find out more and to book a practical driving assessment.
• Competency based training and assessment by an ACT accredited driving instructor: This is often called the logbook method and means a driving instructor will assess you against 23 competencies during your course of lessons. It also includes a final competency assessment. The ACT driver competencies (PDF 444KB) detail the driving tasks required to get a provisional licence. You will require a minimum of 7 lessons to complete the logbook method.

For information on how to apply for your Ps see getting your provisional driver licence on the Access Canberra website.

Provisional driver conditions

Once you have a provisional car licence you must:

• display the correct colour (red/green) P plates at the front and rear of the vehicle, the correct way up
• not use a mobile device (including hands-free or loud speaker) while driving, or while your vehicle is stopped but not parked
• not have any alcohol or drugs in your system while driving
• adhere to a 4 demerit point limit (if you reach or exceed 4 demerit points in a 3-year period, your provisional licence may be suspended or disqualified).

If you hold a P1 licence you also must:

• adhere to the peer aged passenger restriction of only one passenger aged 16-22 from 11pm to 5am (exemptions for work, school and family apply)
• not tow a trailer greater than 750 kilograms.

Licence discounts for good driving

Good driving behaviour can also save you money. By keeping a clean driving record with no demerit points, traffic infringement notices and court-imposed traffic penalties, you can get discounts applied to your full licence fee.

• Clean driving record during the P1 stage: You will get a refund of 50% of the P2 licence fee. This equates to a 33% refund of the total fee paid for your provisional licence, as it is a 3 year licence where P1 is the first year and P2 is the second and third year.
• Clean driving record during both the P1 and P2 stages: You will also get a 30% discount on the full licence fee.

The above discounts are applied when you apply for renewal of your full driver licence. If you do not keep a clean driving record during your P1 stage you will need to pay the full licence fee.

Safe Driver Course

The Safer Driver Course is available for learner drivers aged under 25 when their learner licence was issued. It consists of a theory component of 2.5 hours in a workshop, and a one hour practical driving component. The course aims to help young learner car licence holders to understand and develop safe driving behaviours. This includes reducing road risk when transitioning to independent driving by learning how to anticipate hazardous situations. The practical driving component is undertaken through an approved course provider with an ACT Accredited Driving Instructor. It is designed to have 2 learner car licence holders per vehicle.

Learner car licence holders must have completed either:

• 10 hours with an ACT accredited driving instructor or
• 30 hours with a driving supervisor before undertaking the driving component aspect of the course.

Completing this course will give you 20 of your required driving hours.

To book your place on this course, please contact one of these approved providers:

• Canberra PCYC
• Fifth Gear Motoring
• Lotus Driving School Canberra
• Online Driving Courses
• Pinnacle Driving School
• Road Ready Centre Online Driving Courses

Vulnerable Road User Program

The Vulnerable Road User Program is available for all learner drivers. It includes self-directed learning which must be completed before attending a 2 hour workshop. The course is focused on safely sharing the road with cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Completing this course will give you 10 of your required driving hours.

To book your place on this course, please contact one of these approved providers:

• Canberra PCYC
• Fifth Gear Motoring
• Pinnacle Driving School
• Online Driving Courses
• Road Ready Centre

Learner Driver First Aid Program

The Learner Driver First Aid Program teaches post-crash care. Completing one of the approved courses will give you 5 of your required driving hours. To claim these hours you must:

• have held your learner licence for at least 3 months before taking an approved course
• complete one approved course after 22 November 2023.

The approved courses are listed below. Check the course details to decide what best suits your needs, noting the format varies (in person, online). Fees apply unless otherwise noted.

• ACT Learner Driver First Aid Course by Aspen Medical (RTO 88188)
• Driver First Aid by St John Ambulance Australia (RTO 88041) *Free course
• Driver First Aid Bundle by Australian Red Cross Society (RTO 3605)
• Driver First Aid E-learning by Australian Red Cross Society (RTO 3605)
• HLTAID011 Provide First Aid by CBD College (RTO 91399)
• Provide First Aid (4 hours or 1 day) by St John Ambulance Australia (RTO 88041)
• Provide CPR by St John Ambulance Australia (RTO 88041)
• Provide First Aid by Australian Red Cross Society (RTO 3605)
• Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation by Australian Red Cross Society (RTO 3605)
• Road Side Safety Awareness for Learner Drivers by Allens Training (RTO 90909)
• Roadside Safety CPR by Allens Training (RTO 90909)
• Roadside Safety First Aid by Allens Training (RTO 90909)

Organisations interested in participating in the Learner Driver First Aid Program should contact tccs_roadsafety@act.gov.au for more information.

When you apply for your provisional driver licence, take a copy of the course certificate with you to an Access Canberra shopfront. You can print out the certificate or show the original electronic copy to Access Canberra staff. Photographs of the certificate will not be accepted.