The learner's test has 45 questions in New South Wales, 32 in Victoria, 30 in Queensland, 30 in Western Australia, 50 in South Australia, and 35 in the Australian Capital Territory. The responsible agencies confirmed those counts on 27 August 2026. Tasmania and the Northern Territory remain unconfirmed, so no count is given here.
Australia does not have one national learner test. Each licensing authority sets its own question format and pass rule, so the total alone can mislead you. New South Wales and South Australia apply separate cut-offs within one test, while Victoria publishes a percentage rather than an official raw pass count. The full side-by-side overview of the eight systems is at /compare.
New South Wales: two cut-offs inside one test
For the New South Wales in-person Driver Knowledge Test, Transport for NSW and Service NSW, checked on 27 August 2026, specify 45 questions in two sections. The general knowledge section has 15 questions and requires 12 correct. The road safety section has 30 questions and requires 29 correct. Passing one section cannot compensate for missing the other section's cut-off.
The online route changes the time commitment. Service NSW, opened on 3 September 2026, describes DKT Online as a 4 to 6 hour course with the final test at the end. Its final test has no time limit, but it must be completed in one session. You can leave the learning modules and return later, so the course length is not a single uninterrupted test sitting. No official time limit for the in-person DKT was found on the agency pages opened that day.
Transport for NSW publishes the full car question bank under CC BY 4.0. The bank contained 358 questions when checked on 27 August 2026, but those published questions prepare learners for the in-person DKT, not DKT Online. You can study them by section at /nsw/questions, which keeps the general knowledge and road safety thresholds visible while you practise.
Victoria: the percentage has to be converted
The VicRoads learner permit knowledge test has 32 questions and a pass mark of 78 percent, according to the VicRoads practice learner permit test page opened on 3 September 2026. VicRoads states the official rule as a percentage, not as a raw number of correct answers. That distinction matters when you work out the smallest whole-number score that reaches the published mark.
No fixed sitting-time limit was found on the VicRoads learner permit knowledge test page when it was checked on 3 September 2026. Do not turn the length of a practice attempt into a claim about the real test. For planning, keep enough time around the appointment for arrival and administration, but use no unofficial minute estimate for the test itself.
Queensland: the highest confirmed pass bar
Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads, checked on 27 August 2026, sets 30 multiple-choice questions for PrepL and requires 27 correct, or 90 percent. That is the highest confirmed percentage bar among Australia's learner assessments. A learner may enrol from 15 years and 11 months, according to the department's PrepL page checked on the same date, before becoming eligible for a learner licence.
PrepL combines teaching and assessment rather than giving you a short stand-alone appointment. The Department of Transport and Main Roads page opened on 3 September 2026 says the course takes roughly 4 to 6 hours and can be completed at your own pace. No separate official time limit for the final question set was found there, so the course length should not be described as the test timer.
Western Australia: one score across the test
Western Australia's Department of Transport, checked on 27 August 2026, sets 30 multiple-choice questions in the Computerised Theory Test and requires at least 24 correct. Unlike New South Wales or South Australia, the confirmed car test rule is one total score rather than separate section cut-offs. That lets you calculate one mistake allowance across the full sitting.
The Department of Transport theory test page was opened again on 3 September 2026, and no official sitting-time limit was found on it. The page does say the test is taken without a phone, another device or the Drive Safe handbook. Plan to answer from your own knowledge, but do not rely on an unofficial claim about how many minutes the sitting lasts.
South Australia: the first part must be perfect
The South Australian centre theory test has 50 questions in two parts, according to Service SA information checked on 27 August 2026. Part one has 8 give way questions, and every answer must be correct before you can proceed. Part two has 42 road rules and safety questions, with at least 32 correct required. A strong second part cannot repair one wrong give way answer.
Official South Australian guidance is the clearest published answer about sitting length. The Department for Infrastructure and Transport page opened on 3 September 2026 says the computer or written centre test takes about 30 minutes. That is guidance, not a hard countdown stated on the page, so arrive ready for the appointment to take longer once check-in and permit administration are included.
South Australia also offers the online myLs pathway, which combines learning and assessment rather than simply copying the centre appointment. The choice affects how you complete the requirement, even though both lead towards the same learner's permit. The practical differences between the online and centre routes are set out at /guides/sa-theory-test-and-the-two-pathway-decision.
Tasmania: the honest answer is still unconfirmed
Service Tasmania confirms that the learner driver knowledge test can be completed through Plates Plus or at a service centre and that the service has no charge. Its page, opened on 3 September 2026, does not publish a question count, pass mark or sitting-time limit. The question total and required score therefore remain under verification, and this guide does not fill the gap with an unsupported figure.
Some practice sites print a Tasmanian count as though repetition makes it official. It does not. A number copied from another practice page still traces back to that page unless a responsible Tasmanian source confirms it. Until that source is recorded, prepare from the current Tasmanian road rules material and ask Service Tasmania about the test format when arranging the service.
Northern Territory: do not borrow another site's numbers
The Northern Territory uses a driver knowledge test within the learner licensing process, including the DriveSafe NT pathway. This site's agency check on 27 August 2026 did not settle a question count, pass mark or fee for publication, so none is stated here. The territory remains the least consistently documented system in the comparison, and many figures in circulation trace back to practice sites rather than a recorded territory source.
The NT Government licensing page was opened on 3 September 2026 to check timing, but no official sitting-time limit was found. That means a learner should confirm the current arrangements directly when booking or enrolling and should not plan around a duration quoted without an NT Government source. The missing number is deliberate, not an invitation to substitute an estimate.
Australian Capital Territory: four errors, with a condition
The Australian Capital Territory knowledge test has 35 questions and requires 31 correct, according to ACT Government material checked on 27 August 2026. The current ACT instrument opened on 3 September 2026 adds a useful condition: some questions are mandatory and must all be correct, while four incorrect answers are allowed among the remaining general questions. Treat mandatory items as having no mistake allowance.
No official sitting-time limit was found in the ACT Government knowledge test material opened on 3 September 2026. A fixed minute estimate would therefore be guesswork. The safe planning distinction is between the required pre-learner learning process and the knowledge test itself: time published for learning does not automatically become time allowed for answering the test questions.
How many answers can you get wrong?
New South Wales: 15 minus 12 leaves 3 possible wrong answers in general knowledge, while 30 minus 29 leaves only 1 in road safety. This arithmetic uses the Transport for NSW and Service NSW section scores checked on 27 August 2026. The allowances stay separate, so using all four errors in one section does not produce a pass.
Victoria: 78 percent of 32 is 24.96, so the smallest whole score that reaches the mark is 25 correct, leaving 7 wrong. This is derived from the VicRoads percentage and question count opened on 3 September 2026. VicRoads publishes 78 percent, not 25 correct, so treat the raw count as arithmetic rather than agency wording.
Queensland: 30 minus the required 27 leaves room for 3 wrong answers across PrepL. The Department of Transport and Main Roads published both inputs on the page opened on 3 September 2026. Because the required score is 90 percent, a fourth error takes the result below the confirmed pass bar even if the remaining answers are correct.
Western Australia: 30 minus the required 24 leaves room for 6 wrong answers across the Computerised Theory Test. The Department of Transport figures were checked on 27 August 2026 and the official test page was reopened on 3 September 2026. This is one overall allowance, with no separate confirmed car-test section score to satisfy as well.
South Australia: 8 minus the required 8 leaves zero room for error in part one, while 42 minus 32 leaves room for 10 wrong answers in part two. Those Service SA figures were checked on 27 August 2026. The two margins cannot be pooled, because one wrong give way answer blocks progress regardless of the later score.
Australian Capital Territory: 35 minus the required 31 gives a headline margin of 4 wrong answers, based on ACT Government figures checked on 27 August 2026. The instrument opened on 3 September 2026 qualifies that margin: all mandatory questions must be right, so the four possible errors apply only among the general questions.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not belong in this arithmetic comparison yet. Their count and pass inputs remain unconfirmed in this site's verified record as at 27 August 2026. Without both inputs, any allowed-error figure would be invented arithmetic built on an unverified starting point, so the comparison stops at the six confirmed systems.
Worked example: Rosie in Bunbury
Take Rosie, a fictional learner living in the real Western Australian city of Bunbury. Her test has 30 questions and needs 24 correct, using Department of Transport figures checked on 27 August 2026. She subtracts 24 from 30 and gets an allowance of 6 wrong. If her practice result is 23 correct, she has 7 wrong and is one correct answer below the pass line.
On Rosie's next practice attempt, 24 correct means 6 wrong, which reaches the confirmed threshold exactly. A result of 25 correct means 5 wrong and places her one answer above it. The arithmetic tells her more than a percentage alone: she can identify the precise gap to close. For any other test size, the calculator at /tools/pass-mark performs the same subtraction.
How to plan for the time you can verify
Separate course time, test time and appointment time before putting the date in your calendar. Service NSW and Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads each publish roughly 4 to 6 hours for their online learning routes, checked on 3 September 2026. Those hours include teaching content and activities. They are not evidence that the final question set takes that long.
New South Wales gives the most precise timer statement for an online final: Service NSW said on the page opened on 3 September 2026 that there is no time limit, but the final must be finished in one session. Complete the learning earlier, then begin the final only when you have a stable connection and enough uninterrupted time to read every question carefully.
South Australia's centre test is the only sitting in this review with official duration guidance found on an agency page: about 30 minutes, according to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport page opened on 3 September 2026. For Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, no official sitting-time limit was found on the agency material checked that day.
Where no limit is published, do not practise against a made-up countdown. Practise reading accurately, then check the booking confirmation for any instructions that apply to your appointment. If the agency later publishes a timer, that current instruction should replace any older third-party claim. Travel, identity checks and service-centre waiting are separate from the question sitting and cannot be given one national duration.
Use the pass rule, not just the total
When you mark a practice set, record whether the real test uses one overall score or separate gates. A total score is enough for the confirmed Queensland and Western Australian formats. New South Wales needs a separate result for general knowledge and road safety, while South Australia needs a perfect give way part before the second part can matter. This prevents a reassuring total from hiding a failing section.
Set your practice target above the bare minimum so one unfamiliar question does not decide the result, but keep the official line visible. The pass mark calculator at /tools/pass-mark can convert a confirmed question total and required score into an allowed-error margin. It cannot make an unconfirmed Tasmanian or Northern Territory input reliable, so leave those fields alone until an agency source supplies the missing facts.
For New South Wales, practise from the published bank by section at /nsw/questions rather than treating all questions as interchangeable. Transport for NSW's 358-question car bank and its CC BY 4.0 status were checked on 27 August 2026. Matching practice to the two official cut-offs makes your result diagnostic: it shows whether general knowledge or road safety needs more work.
Common questions
- Question
- How many questions is the learners test in Australia?
- There is no single Australian test. Agency counts checked on 27 August 2026 are 45 in New South Wales, 32 in Victoria, 30 in Queensland, 30 in Western Australia, 50 in South Australia and 35 in the Australian Capital Territory. Tasmania and the Northern Territory remain unconfirmed in this guide, so no number is supplied for either.
- Question
- How many questions can I get wrong on the learners test?
- Using agency figures checked on 27 August 2026, Queensland allows 3 wrong, Western Australia 6, and the Australian Capital Territory has a headline margin of 4, subject to mandatory questions. New South Wales allows 3 wrong in general knowledge and 1 in road safety. South Australia allows none in part one and 10 in part two. Victoria's derived margin is 7.
- Question
- Is the learners test timed in Australia?
- There is no national timer. Service NSW said on 3 September 2026 that the DKT Online final has no time limit but must be completed in one session. South Australian official guidance opened that day says its centre theory test takes about 30 minutes. No official sitting-time limit was found for the other jurisdictions reviewed, so this guide does not estimate one.
- Question
- How long does the NSW DKT Online take?
- Service NSW describes DKT Online as a 4 to 6 hour course, according to its page opened on 3 September 2026. That figure covers the learning modules and final test together, not a timed question sitting. The final itself has no time limit but must be completed in one session, while progress through the earlier learning content can be saved.
- Question
- How long does Queensland PrepL take?
- Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads says PrepL takes roughly 4 to 6 hours, based on the page opened on 3 September 2026. It combines learning activities with assessment and can be completed at your own pace. The final assessment has 30 questions and needs 27 correct, but the agency page does not give a separate time limit for that question set.
- Question
- What if I get one give way question wrong in South Australia?
- You do not clear the first part of the centre theory test. Service SA's confirmed rule, checked on 27 August 2026, requires all 8 give way questions to be correct before part two. The allowance of 10 wrong answers applies only to the later 42-question road rules and safety part, so a strong part two score cannot cancel the earlier error.
- Question
- Why are Tasmania and the NT question counts missing?
- Their question counts and pass marks were not confirmed against a source in those jurisdictions when the agency figures were checked on 27 August 2026. Service Tasmania's page opened on 3 September 2026 confirms the test routes and no-charge service but not those figures. The Northern Territory record also remains unresolved for publication. Copying a number from another practice site would not turn it into an official fact.
Sources
Every page below was opened and read on the date beside it. A page that could not be reached is not listed, and neither is the claim that would have rested on it.
- Service NSW, Common questions about Driver Knowledge Test onlineChecked
- Transport for NSW, Driver Knowledge Test questions for car licenceChecked
- Queensland Government, Driver tests, written and onlineChecked
- Transport WA, Take the Computerised Theory TestChecked
- VicRoads, Practice learner permit knowledge testChecked
- South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport, Theory testChecked
- Service Tasmania, Complete a learner driver licence knowledge testChecked
- NT Government, Get your driver licenceChecked
- ACT Government, Approval of Pre-Learner Licence Training CourseChecked
How this guide is kept honest
Every figure above names the agency or dataset it came from and the date it was checked. Where a number has not been confirmed against an agency or an open dataset, the guide says it is being verified rather than filling the gap. Licensing rules change, so check the agency page before you pay for anything or book a test.
Last reviewed .