Which Australian state has the lowest driving test pass rate?

Of the figures read here, Western Australia is the lowest at 42.3 percent across 244,557 Practical Driving Assessments, from freedom of information release 2026-0140. That is not the same as saying it is the lowest in the country, because South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory publish nothing that has been read.

Which has the highest?

Of the figures with a named publisher, Victoria is highest at 72.2 percent across 492,504 drive tests. No Tasmanian statewide practical pass rate with a named publisher has been confirmed here.

Is there a national driving test pass rate for Australia?

No, and no honest one can be calculated. The eight systems are run by eight different agencies with no shared reporting, four publish nothing that has been read and two of the four figures here are rounded. Averaging that would produce a number that looks precise and means nothing.

Why do the pass rates differ so much between states?

The releases record outcomes, not causes, so nobody can answer this from the data alone. What can be said is that the tests are not the same test: the assessment criteria, the length of the drive, the routes, the supervised hours required beforehand and the rules on what ends a test early all differ by jurisdiction. Comparing the numbers is fair. Concluding that drivers in one state are better than in another is not.

Are these figures current?

Each row carries the date it was checked and the window the release covers, where the release states one. Two of them are one off freedom of information releases, which means they age from the day they were cut and do not refresh on their own. Where that matters, it is said on the row.

Study

Driving test pass rates by state and territory

4 of the eight Australian licensing systems publish a practical driving test pass rate with a named publisher behind it. Western Australia is the lowest at 42.3%, across 244,557 assessments, from Department of Transport, Western Australia, read on 27 August 2026. Victoria is the highest at 72.2%, across 492,504 drive tests, from VicRoads, read on 27 August 2026. That is a spread of 29.9 percentage points between two different tests set by two different agencies. Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory have no confirmed figure here.

Reviewed on 2026-08-28

4 figures held, 4 jurisdictions empty

Lowest with a named publisher: 42.3%Western Australia, Practical Driving Assessment, across 244,557 assessmentsSource: WA Department of Transport, freedom of information release 2026-0140. Checked 27 August 2026.
Highest with a named publisher: 72.2%Victoria, Drive test, across 492,504 drive testsSource: VicRoads drive test freedom of information release. Checked 27 August 2026.
Spread between them: 29.9 pointsTwo different tests set by two different agencies, so this is a gap between systems and not a ranking of driversComputed from the two figures above. Checked 28 August 2026.

The four figures that exist, and the four that do not

Ordered highest to lowest. The four hatched rows at the bottom are not bars of zero, they are jurisdictions with nothing published that has been read here.

Practical driving test pass rate, by jurisdiction

Two different tests set by two different agencies are not the same test, so the length of a bar compares systems rather than drivers.

Victoria72.2%Drive test, VicRoads. 492,504 drive tests. Confidence: exact.
QueenslandAbout 61%Q-SAFE practical test, Department of Transport and Main Roads. Sample size not stated in what is held. Confidence: rounded.
New South WalesAbout 56%Driving test, Transport for NSW and Service NSW. Sample size not stated in what is held. Confidence: rounded.
Western Australia42.3%Practical Driving Assessment, Department of Transport. 244,557 assessments. Confidence: exact.
TasmaniaBeing verifiedNothing published that has been read, so no bar is drawn.
South AustraliaBeing verifiedNothing published that has been read, so no bar is drawn.
Northern TerritoryBeing verifiedNothing published that has been read, so no bar is drawn.
Australian Capital TerritoryBeing verifiedNothing published that has been read, so no bar is drawn.

Bars run from zero to 100 percent of tests passed. 4 of 8 rows have a figure. The other 4 rows are drawn as a gap rather than filled in.

The highest and lowest bars are marked from the figures that have a named publisher behind them. Empty rows have no confirmed figure to compare.

Each bar carries its own release in the note beneath it, and every release is listed in full on the source register. Last worked through end to end on 28 August 2026.

How far the data goes in each jurisdiction

A statewide average and a per centre release are not the same kind of evidence, so the cell says which one it is.

WAWestern AustraliaPer centre, from a freedom of information release
VICVictoriaStatewide only
QLDQueenslandStatewide, with a breakdown by local government area
NSWNew South WalesStatewide, with per centre outcomes published by the agency
TASTasmaniaNothing published that has been read
SASouth AustraliaNothing published that has been read
NTNorthern TerritoryNothing published that has been read
ACTAustralian Capital TerritoryNothing published that has been read

4 of 8 jurisdictions have something here. The rest are marked empty rather than filled in from a source that has not been read.

Every jurisdiction, and how far its data goes

The third column is the one that matters. A statewide figure and a per centre release are not the same kind of evidence, and a table that hides the difference is worse than no table.

Practical driving test pass rates by Australian state and territory, with sample size, coverage and source
State or territory	Test	Pass rate	Sample	How far the data goes	Confidence	Source, and when it was read
Western Australia	Practical Driving Assessment	42.3%	244,557 assessments	Per centre, from a freedom of information release	Exact	WA Department of Transport, freedom of information release 2026-0140. Checked 27 August 2026.
Victoria	Drive test	72.2%	492,504 drive tests	Statewide only	Exact	VicRoads drive test freedom of information release. Checked 27 August 2026.
Queensland	Q-SAFE practical test	About 61%	Not stated	Statewide, with a breakdown by local government area	Rounded	Queensland practical driving test open data. Checked 27 August 2026.
New South Wales	Driving test	About 56%	Not stated	Statewide, with per centre outcomes published by the agency	Rounded	Transport for NSW Registration and Licensing Statistics. Checked 27 August 2026.
Tasmania	Practical driving assessment	Being verified	Not stated	Nothing published that has been read	None	No source has been read, so no figure is published.
South Australia	Vehicle On Road Test	Being verified	Not stated	Nothing published that has been read	None	No source has been read, so no figure is published.
Northern Territory	Practical driving assessment	Being verified	Not stated	Nothing published that has been read	None	No source has been read, so no figure is published.
Australian Capital Territory	Practical driving assessment	Being verified	Not stated	Nothing published that has been read	None	No source has been read, so no figure is published.

Table scrolls sideways on a narrow screen. The same figures are set out one jurisdiction at a time below, with the source under each one.

One jurisdiction at a time

Each block carries the figure, what it covers, the caveat that has to travel with it, and the release it came from.

Western Australia: 42.3%

Practical Driving Assessment, set by Department of Transport.

Pass rate: 42.3%; The lowest of the four figures held here, and the only Australian release held here that goes down to individual assessment centres. The release covers 22 centres and 244,557 assessments.
Sample: 244,557 assessments; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Per centre, from a freedom of information release; Confidence: exact.
Source: WA Department of Transport, freedom of information release 2026-0140; Freedom of information release. Checked 27 August 2026. A one off release rather than a maintained dataset, so it ages from the day it was cut and there is no newer version until a fresh request is answered.

Victoria: 72.2%

Drive test, set by VicRoads.

Pass rate: 72.2%; The largest sample in this table and the only one that reports outcomes by attempt number, which is where the interesting part of the Victorian release actually is.
Sample: 492,504 drive tests; Covering January 2024 to April 2026.
Coverage: Statewide only; Confidence: exact.
Source: VicRoads drive test freedom of information release; Freedom of information release. Checked 27 August 2026. Statewide only. The release does not break results down by test centre, and a separate request for per centre outcomes was refused, so no Victorian per centre figure on this site would be sound.

Queensland: About 61%

Q-SAFE practical test, set by Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Pass rate: About 61%; Queensland is the only jurisdiction publishing test outcomes as open data on a regular cycle, so a learner can look up their own local government area rather than a statewide average.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Statewide, with a breakdown by local government area; Confidence: rounded.
Source: Queensland practical driving test open data; Open dataset. Checked 27 August 2026. Broken down by local government area, licence class, booking type and age group rather than by individual test centre.

New South Wales: About 56%

Driving test, set by Transport for NSW and Service NSW.

Pass rate: About 56%; Transport for NSW publishes outcomes for roughly 150 individual test centres, so the spread between centres is public rather than something anyone has to request.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Statewide, with per centre outcomes published by the agency; Confidence: rounded.
Source: Transport for NSW Registration and Licensing Statistics; Agency statistics portal. Checked 27 August 2026. The statewide figure carried here is rounded. The portal is the place to read an exact current number, and New South Wales is the only jurisdiction publishing per centre outcomes as a matter of course.

Tasmania: Being verified

Practical driving assessment, set by Service Tasmania.

Pass rate: Being verified; No Tasmanian statewide practical pass rate with a named publisher has been confirmed, so no figure is shown.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Nothing published that has been read; Confidence: none.
Source: None; No source has been read for this jurisdiction, so no figure is published.

South Australia: Being verified

Vehicle On Road Test, set by Service SA.

Pass rate: Being verified; No South Australian statewide pass rate has been read off a South Australian source, so none is shown. South Australia also runs two assessment pathways, which would make a single blended rate misleading even once a figure exists.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Nothing published that has been read; Confidence: none.
Source: None; No source has been read for this jurisdiction, so no figure is published.

Northern Territory: Being verified

Practical driving assessment, set by Northern Territory Government.

Pass rate: Being verified; The least documented of the eight systems. Most figures circulating for the Northern Territory trace back to other practice sites rather than to the territory, which is why there is nothing in this row.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Nothing published that has been read; Confidence: none.
Source: None; No source has been read for this jurisdiction, so no figure is published.

Australian Capital Territory: Being verified

Practical driving assessment, set by ACT Government.

Pass rate: Being verified; No ACT practical pass rate has been read off an ACT source. The territory is small enough that a single year of results would carry a wide margin anyway, which is a reason to publish the sample size alongside it when it arrives.
Sample: Not stated in what is held; The release read here does not state the window it covers, so none is claimed.
Coverage: Nothing published that has been read; Confidence: none.
Source: None; No source has been read for this jurisdiction, so no figure is published.

How to read these numbers

Four things that decide whether a comparison between two of these rows means anything.

How this page was made

Where the figures came fromTwo freedom of information releases, one open dataset, one agency statistics portal, and one figure carried with no publisher named against it. Each row on this page says which of those it is.
What was done to themNothing. No rescaling, no weighting, no adjustment for the number of tests behind each figure. The numbers on this page are the numbers in the releases, at the precision the releases give them.
What was not calculatedA national average, a ranking of drivers, and any figure for South Australia, the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory. The spread quoted at the top is arithmetic on two published numbers, and it is computed in code from the table rather than typed in, so it cannot drift away from the rows.
When it will changeWhen a jurisdiction publishes something new, or when a fresh freedom of information request is answered. Two of these releases are one off cuts, so they age from the day they were made and there is no newer version to pull.

They are not the same test

Each jurisdiction sets its own assessment: its own criteria, its own route length, its own list of errors that end a test on the spot, and its own supervised hour requirement before a candidate is allowed to book. A gap between two rows is a gap between two systems. It is not evidence that drivers in one place are better than drivers in another.

Two of the four are rounded

Queensland and New South Wales are carried as about a figure rather than to a decimal place, because that is the precision they were read at. They are shown that way rather than given a false decimal.

Two of the four are one off releases

The Western Australian and Victorian figures came out of freedom of information requests, not a maintained dataset. They do not refresh. They age from the day they were cut, and the only way to move them forward is another request.

There is no national figure here

Four systems have no confirmed figure here, and two are rounded. An Australian average built on that would be a made up number with a decimal point attached, so none is calculated.

Questions people actually ask

Answered from the releases held, including where the honest answer is that the data does not say.

Question: Which Australian state has the lowest driving test pass rate?; Of the figures read here, Western Australia is the lowest at 42.3 percent across 244,557 Practical Driving Assessments, from freedom of information release 2026-0140. That is not the same as saying it is the lowest in the country, because South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory publish nothing that has been read.
Question: Which has the highest?; Of the figures with a named publisher, Victoria is highest at 72.2 percent across 492,504 drive tests. No Tasmanian statewide practical pass rate with a named publisher has been confirmed here.
Question: Is there a national driving test pass rate for Australia?; No, and no honest one can be calculated. The eight systems are run by eight different agencies with no shared reporting, four publish nothing that has been read and two of the four figures here are rounded. Averaging that would produce a number that looks precise and means nothing.
Question: Why do the pass rates differ so much between states?; The releases record outcomes, not causes, so nobody can answer this from the data alone. What can be said is that the tests are not the same test: the assessment criteria, the length of the drive, the routes, the supervised hours required beforehand and the rules on what ends a test early all differ by jurisdiction. Comparing the numbers is fair. Concluding that drivers in one state are better than in another is not.
Question: Are these figures current?; Each row carries the date it was checked and the window the release covers, where the release states one. Two of them are one off freedom of information releases, which means they age from the day they were cut and do not refresh on their own. Where that matters, it is said on the row.

Last checked 28 August 2026.

The jurisdictions behind these figures

Every figure above is read off one of these pages, where it sits next to the agency that published it and the date it was checked.