Reporting fitness to drive
Some health problems can make driving unsafe. If you have an ACT driver licence and a long-term health condition that could affect your driving, you must tell Access Canberra. Other people can also make a report if they are concerned about someone’s ability to drive.
Access Canberra will then assess against the Assessing Fitness to Drive standards, published by Austroads. This contains the medical standards needed to drive safely in Australia. There are different rules for private drivers and for those driving commercial, passenger or heavy vehicles.
If you drive a heavy vehicle (MR class or above), you must:
- meet the medical standards and
- have a commercial driver medical assessment with your doctor.
To find out more, see the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1999 and the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2000.
Reporting fitness to drive flowchart (JPEG 460.0 KB).
Voluntary reporting
Anyone can make a report to Access Canberra if they believe someone has a long-term health condition that could make it unsafe for them to drive. This includes:
- health practitioners who are not covered by the mandatory reporting rules
- police and
- family members.
The person being reported can be any driver, not just a heavy vehicle driver. There doesn’t need to be a medical check before reporting.
Access Canberra will:
Access Canberra might:
- take no action
- add a condition to the person’s licence or
- suspend or cancel the licence in serious cases.
For more information, visit Access Canberra.
Self-reporting
If you have an ACT driver licence and a long-term medical condition, you must tell Access Canberra. This includes:
- sleep disorders
- heart problems
- diabetes
- hearing loss and deafness
- muscle and joint problems
- brain or mental health conditions.
Access Canberra may:
- ask for proof you can still drive safely
- add a condition to your licence or
- suspend or cancel your licence in serious cases.
You do not need to report a short-term, temporary illness; however, if your driving is impaired you should not drive.
Mandatory reporting for medical professionals
From 12 June 2025, certain health practitioners must report to Access Canberra if they:
- have examined or assessed a person (e.g. in-person, by telehealth, or by examining their medical history) and
- believe the person holds or is applying for a heavy vehicle licence anywhere in Australia or overseas (e.g. truck driver is listed as their occupation, or they have otherwise indicated it to you) and
- form an opinion that the person has a permanent or long-term illness, injury or incapacity that is likely to impair their ability to drive a heavy vehicle safely (e.g. suspected or diagnosed sleep disorders, cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, hearing loss and deafness, musculoskeletal conditions, neurological conditions or psychiatric conditions which are not well managed or are otherwise considered likely to affect fitness to drive).
The mandatory reporting legislation applies to the following licence classes:
- Light rigid (LR)
- Medium rigid (MR)
- Heavy rigid (HR)
- Heavy combination (HC)
- Multi-combination (MC)
The mandatory reporting legislation applies to the following health practitioners:
- medical (e.g. doctors and specialists)
- occupational therapists
- optometrists
- physiotherapists
- psychologists
The Assessing Fitness to Drive guide helps health practitioners to assess if someone can drive safely. It also has information on conditions that may affect fitness to drive and types of heavy vehicle licences.
The Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Mandatory Reporting of Fitness to Drive Guidelines 2025 further clarify the threshold for when mandatory reporting is needed. These help practitioners to decide whether an injury, illness, or incapacity is likely to affect a person’s ability to drive safely.
Health practitioners have discretion to determine whether an injury, illness, or incapacity is likely to impair fitness to drive. For example, a person’s condition may not be likely to impair their ability to drive a heavy vehicle safely if it is managed in a way that meets the requirements for a conditional licence.
Relevant health practitioners must report within 7 days of forming their opinion, even if there is no formal diagnosis. Reports should be submitted to Access Canberra through the reporting form on the Access Canberra website.
They also need to:
- tell the person about the report as soon as possible; and
- include the person’s name, address, date of birth and details of the condition.
They cannot use the person’s My Health Record to report without permission.
All health workers are encouraged to report concerns, even if the person’s condition isn’t long-term.
For more information see the new health reporting rules for heavy vehicle drivers factsheet (PDF 65.5 KB).
Licence changes
After reviewing the report, Access Canberra may:
- Take no action. Access Canberra may already be aware of the person’s medical condition and there are no reported changes. Access Canberra may consider the person meets the minimum medical standards. The health practitioner and patient will not be contacted in this instance.
- Ask for further assessment. For example, asking the person to see their GP, an occupational therapist or get a specialist report.
- Change the person’s licence. Access Canberra may add a condition to the person’s licence or suspend or cancel the licence. The person will be told in writing and can ask for an internal review of the decision.
While health professionals may give advice, any decision about a licence is made by Access Canberra.
