Tasmania's knowledge test is booked through Service Tasmania and carries no fee, the cheapest entry point in Australia. The practical driving assessment is a separate later step. No statewide pass rate with a named Tasmanian publisher has been confirmed here, and we do not publish a knowledge question count, a pass mark or a supervised hour total until a current Tasmanian source is named.
What does a free knowledge test actually change?
Tasmania's free knowledge test changes the cost of starting. It does not change the need to hold a learner licence, to log supervised practice, or to pass a practical driving assessment. Those later steps still have rules, fees and a standard, and this guide separates the step that is free from the steps that are not.
The Service Tasmania knowledge test page says it plainly: there is no cost associated with this service. You can sit it at home by creating a myServiceTas account and completing the Plates Plus course, or you can sit a standalone test at a service centre. Service Tasmania says the Plates Plus course takes around 4 hours, can be saved as you go, and is the path they encourage. They also state that customers who attempt the standalone test are unlikely to pass.
You must pass the knowledge test before you can apply for a learner licence, and once you pass you have 12 months to complete that application. The test itself can be sat from 15 years and 11 months of age if you are a new driver. The learner licence is only issued once you are 16. If you fail at a service centre you can resit the next business day. If you fail online you can complete the Plates Plus course and test again after 12 hours. Those mechanics come from the same Service Tasmania page.
Free to sit is not free to hold. After you pass, you still visit a service centre, fill in an application, prove identity, take an eye test and pay for the licence itself. The Service Tasmania learner licence page lists the learner driver fee at $40.68, with no concession rate, and notes that fees were last updated on 1 July 2026. You can buy L plates and a learner log book at the centre, or download the free Logbook app from Plates Plus. So the free test gives Tasmania the cheapest start in the country, but the licence card is a separate charge.
The Tasmanian Road Rules Handbook can be bought at a service centre or downloaded from Transport Services. Service Tasmania links that PDF from the knowledge test page. In a jurisdiction where third party sites disagree about format, the official handbook is the document the test is written from. Read it end to end before you book. The Tasmanian learner hub collects the facts we have checked for this system in one place, including the free test and the gaps we still mark as unverified.
What can a practical pass rate tell you?
Tasmania has no statewide practical pass rate from a named publisher that this site could confirm. A rate needs a clear publisher, period and sample before it can support a comparison. Western Australia's figure comes from a named freedom of information release, reference 2026-0140, covering 244,557 assessments at 22 centres. That is the kind of source detail a Tasmanian figure would need before it could be used here.
The other sourced practical rates also come from named publishers. New South Wales sits at about 56 per cent statewide on the Transport for NSW Registration and Licensing Statistics portal, which publishes outcomes for roughly 150 test centres. Victoria sits at 72.2 per cent across 492,504 tests from January 2024 to April 2026, released under freedom of information, with first attempts at 74.2 per cent and a fifth attempt at 51.7 per cent, and more than one test in five stopped part way through for a critical error. Queensland's Q-SAFE practical test passes about 61 per cent statewide on Queensland Government open data published by local government area, licence class, booking type and age group.
A high pass rate is easy to misread as an easy test. What a pass rate actually measures is the interaction between the standard, the roads, and who turns up. Western Australia shows how wide results can vary inside one system: Midland sits at 28.3 per cent and Cannington at 56.4 per cent in the same 2026-0140 release. A statewide number hides that kind of gap.
The practical consequence for a Tasmanian learner is to prepare against the assessment requirements rather than an interstate pass rate. Failing to give way, missing observation before a change of position, and speed in changed conditions can still end an assessment. Transport Services publishes an About Your Driving Assessment sheet, in English and in several other languages, on its preparing for your driving assessment page. Read that sheet. The driving test pass rate study shows which jurisdictions have sourced rates and leaves Tasmania blank.
How does Tasmania compare on cost?
On knowledge test fees, Tasmania is first of the eight systems, and among in-person sittings it is first by a clear margin. Ranked from cheapest confirmed sitting to dearest, the order is: Tasmania at $0, Western Australia at $22.40 for a first theory sitting and $19.20 for each resit, Queensland at $29.70 for PrepL which covers the course and its final assessment, South Australia at $40 for its theory test, then Victoria at $50.80 for the in-person knowledge test and appointment. The VicRoads Ls and Ps fees page gives that $50.80 and also lists the first online Victorian attempt as free, so a Victorian learner who passes online first time also pays $0. The other rows come from each agency's own fee page: Service SA for South Australia, the Queensland and Western Australian transport agencies for theirs, and Service Tasmania for the $0.
New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are not placed in that cheap-to-dear order, because none of those three knowledge test fees has been checked against the agency. They sit after the five confirmed rows as unchecked, not as free. That is the honest eight-system rundown: five priced sittings with Tasmania at the bottom of the bill, and three systems where this site still has no fee to print. The eight-system comparison puts those fee rows next to question counts and pass rates, and it is the place to see which cells are still marked as being checked.
Hazard perception sits on top of those knowledge fees in some systems and not in others. Western Australia adds a separate hazard perception test at $29.90 for the first sitting and $24.10 for each resit, according to the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure. Victoria adds a hazard perception test on top of the knowledge sitting, free on the first online attempt or $44.00 in person, on the VicRoads Ls and Ps fees page. Tasmania's hazard perception test is free. The Service Tasmania hazard perception page states there is no cost, that you can try again immediately if you fail, and that the result remains valid for 12 months. A novice learner can sit it from 3 months before the provisional test date. You have 45 minutes to complete it, though the page says most people only need 20 minutes.
The practical sitting is where Tasmania stops looking free. Service Tasmania's provisional driving assessment page lists a P1 assessment at $108.93, with fees last updated on 1 July 2026. VicRoads lists Victoria's drive test at $75.30 including the appointment fee. Tasmania's P1 fee is therefore higher than Victoria's drive test fee, even though Tasmania's knowledge test is $0 and Victoria's in-person knowledge test and appointment is $50.80. Cheap to start is not the same as cheap to finish.
The licence cost calculator currently stands behind the Tasmanian knowledge test at $0 and leaves the later Tasmanian lines unpublished, which matches the older fee check. The $40.68 learner licence and the $108.93 P1 assessment in this guide come from the Service Tasmania learner licence and booking pages. Those fees change when the schedule does, so confirm the current amounts on the agency page before you pay. A government assessor is paid at the published P1 rate. A non-government assessor can only charge that standard P1 fee, but may add vehicle hire, a familiarisation session, rural travel or booking fees, which you should confirm before you book.
Devonport example: what the first six months actually costs
If you live in Devonport and turn 16 in March, you can start in the last weeks of February, at 15 years and 11 months: create a myServiceTas account, register for Plates Plus, and sit the knowledge test at home. The sitting costs $0. On your birthday you go to the Devonport service centre with your identity documents, take the eye test, and pay $40.68 for a learner driver licence. Interpreters can be booked for knowledge tests at Devonport, which is one reason that centre is named on the Service Tasmania knowledge test page. An interpreter is optional. A supervisor is not.
Finding one close to home is often the real obstacle. Transport Services, on its supervisory drivers page, says a novice car supervisory driver must hold a full Australian car licence, not a restricted licence, have held that full licence continuously for the previous 12 months, and provide instruction while the learner is driving. A parent who still holds P plates does not meet that test. Neither does a sibling on a learner licence. The hard part is the passenger seat, not the Service Tasmania counter.
For the first six months your government spend is $40.68. You cannot sit the hazard perception test yet, because a novice learner is only allowed to sit it from 3 months before the provisional test date. You cannot sit the P1 assessment yet either: Service Tasmania requires candidates to be at least 17, and to have held the novice learner licence for the required period. That period is described on the booking page, which also says the requirements differ depending on when you got your learner licence, including changes introduced in December 2020. So the first six months are the licence fee, L plates, a logbook, and whatever you pay an instructor if no supervisor is available. We do not print an instructor hourly rate, because that is not a government fee and we have not checked a Devonport school.
When you reach a P1 sitting later, the government assessor fee is $108.93 on the same 1 July 2026 schedule. The learner licence page also lists a P1 and P2 combined licence at $68.12, or $40.68 with a concession. Add that to what you have already paid and the government pathway from knowledge test to P plates is $40.68 plus $108.93 plus $68.12, which is $217.73, with the knowledge test and the hazard perception test still at $0. Your six month cost is the $40.68, not that later total. People search for a free Tasmania knowledge test and then under-save for the licence card, the assessment, and the months of supervised driving.
Which two Tasmanian numbers are not printed here?
The question count and pass mark for the Tasmanian knowledge test are not published here. Several competing sites do carry numbers for both. We have not been able to confirm those figures against a current Tasmanian source, and repeating another site's figure is how errors propagate across a whole market, so ours says it is being checked instead. The Northern Territory's 30 questions and 26 correct to pass are stated on its government Get your driver licence page. Tasmania's gap is one to check with Service Tasmania, not fill with a copied number.
For contrast, here are the counts each licensing agency publishes. New South Wales asks 45 in two sections, 15 general knowledge allowing three wrong, then 30 road safety allowing one. South Australia asks 50 across two parts of 8 then 42, with no margin on the eight give way questions and 32 of 42 needed on part two. The Australian Capital Territory asks 35 with 31 correct to pass. Victoria asks 32 needing 78 per cent. Queensland asks 30 with 27 correct, which is 90 per cent. Western Australia asks 30 with 24 correct. Tasmania stays blank on purpose.
The same applies to supervised hour requirements. Tasmania's arrangements are being checked against Service Tasmania before publication. When each check is done, the figure appears here with its source listed, the same as every other number on this site. New South Wales requires 120 hours, with the Safer Drivers Course crediting 20 of them. Victoria requires 120. Queensland requires 100. Western Australia requires 50, recorded after the theory test rather than before it. Those four figures come from the state licensing agencies. South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are being checked against their sources. The Northern Territory has no log book system, according to its government Get your driver licence page.
Ask Service Tasmania the three questions when you book: how many questions are in the knowledge test today, what is the pass mark today, and what supervised hours apply to a learner who is getting a first licence today. Write down the answers, including the date. Third party sites will still show older figures. The agency in front of you is the one that will mark the test.
How do you prepare when the local detail is thin?
Read the official Tasmanian learner material end to end. It is free, and in a jurisdiction where third party information is thin it is by some distance the best source available to you. Start with the Tasmanian Road Rules Handbook linked from the Service Tasmania knowledge test page, then the Plates Plus course, then the About Your Driving Assessment sheet before you book a practical.
Practise the road rules that are national rather than local. Australian road rules are substantially harmonised across jurisdictions, so give way rules, speed zone types, line markings and signage transfer directly. Where a rule is genuinely Tasmania specific, the official material is the place to confirm it. Learner conditions on the Transport Services supervisory page include displaying L plates, obeying learner speed restrictions, and a 0.00 blood alcohol content. If you take the P1 assessment in a manual car you get a manual licence. If you take it in an automatic you get an automatic licence and can only drive automatics. Choose the car you will actually keep driving.
Confirm the current test format with Service Tasmania when you book. Ask for the question count, the pass mark, the hours that apply to you, the holding period for your learner licence, and whether your booking is with a government or non-government assessor. You cannot take your P1 assessment with an assessor who taught you during the learner stage. You must use a suitable vehicle. Both rules are on the Service Tasmania booking page.
Book the practical only when you can drive the roads you will be tested on without a supervisor prompting every give way. The assessment still fails people for missing observation, for not giving way, and for speed when the conditions change. Devonport, Burnie, Hobart and Launceston are the centres where Service Tasmania says interpreters can be booked for driving assessments if you need one. Everywhere else, the preparation is the same: official handbook, logged practice with a legal supervisor, and a booking date you have confirmed against the current rules.
Common questions
- Question
- Is the Tasmania knowledge test free?
- Yes. Service Tasmania's knowledge test page states there is no cost and no payment required. You can sit it online through Plates Plus after creating a myServiceTas account, or as a standalone test at a service centre. What you pay for comes next: the learner licence you apply for after passing is $40.68 on the same agency's fee list, with fees last updated 1 July 2026.
- Question
- How many questions is the Tasmania knowledge test?
- We do not publish a number. Third party sites carry competing counts and none of those counts has been confirmed against a current Tasmanian source. Repeating them is how a wrong figure becomes the default other sites copy. Ask Service Tasmania when you book, and read the Tasmanian Road Rules Handbook they link from the knowledge test page. New South Wales is 45, South Australia 50, the Australian Capital Territory 35, Victoria 32, and Queensland and Western Australia 30 each, on the figures their agencies publish. Tasmania is the gap on purpose.
- Question
- What is the Tasmania driving test pass rate?
- There is no sourced figure to give you. Tasmania has not released a statewide practical pass rate that names its publisher, period and sample, so the national comparison leaves it blank. For reference, Western Australia is 42.3 per cent from freedom of information reference 2026-0140, New South Wales is about 56 per cent on the Transport for NSW portal, Victoria is 72.2 per cent from a freedom of information release, and Queensland is about 61 per cent on Queensland Government open data.
- Question
- How many logbook hours for Tasmania P plates?
- We do not print a Tasmanian hour total. Service Tasmania's booking page says requirements differ depending on when you got your learner licence, including changes from December 2020. Elsewhere, New South Wales and Victoria require 120 hours, Queensland 100, and Western Australia 50 after the theory test. Ask Service Tasmania which hour rule applies to a first licence today.
- Question
- How much does a Tasmania learner licence cost?
- The knowledge test is $0. The Service Tasmania apply page lists the learner driver licence at $40.68, with no concession, fees last updated 1 July 2026. The booking page lists a P1 practical assessment at $108.93. Hazard perception is $0. The licence card is the first amount most people actually pay, and it is the figure that turns a free test into a $40.68 start.
- Question
- Can I do the Tasmania knowledge test online?
- Yes. You create a myServiceTas account, register for Plates Plus to get a client ID, work through the course (around 4 hours, and your progress saves), then sit the test at home. Registering takes an Australian birth certificate, Australian passport, international passport with an Australian visa, or an ImmiCard. A failed online attempt can be retaken after 12 hours; a failed attempt at a service centre can be resat the next business day.
- Question
- Do I need a hazard perception test in Tasmania?
- Yes, for a car licence, though not for a motorcycle. Service Tasmania's hazard perception page says you must pass it before you can book a practical driving assessment. It costs nothing, a failed attempt can be retried straight away, you can sit it from 3 months before your provisional test date, and a pass stays valid for 12 months.
Sources
- Service Tasmania, complete a learner driver licence knowledge testChecked
- Service Tasmania, apply for or renew a learner driver licenceChecked
- Service Tasmania, complete a hazard perception testChecked
- Service Tasmania, book a provisional driving assessmentChecked
- Transport Services Tasmania, supervisory drivers and learner vehiclesChecked
- Transport Services Tasmania, preparing for your driving assessmentChecked
- VicRoads: Ls and Ps feesChecked
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure: Sit a Hazard Perception TestChecked