A clean run of published government fees comes to $294 in New South Wales and $273.90 in Queensland with a one year provisional licence. Those are the only two jurisdictions where every required car-licence fee in this guide has a current agency figure. Driving lessons sit outside every total and are almost always the larger cost.
The New South Wales total is from the New South Wales Government driver and rider licence fees page, effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. The Queensland total is from the Queensland Government licence fees page, also effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. Western Australia's published entry fees come to $173.20.
Nothing on this page is a quote. Fees change, concessions exist that are not modelled, and a private instructor sets lesson prices. Confirm the current amount with the agency before you pay. You can build your own bill at /tools/licence-cost from the same published lines.
Fees you pay once, when the licence is issued
A learner licence and a provisional licence are charged when the document is issued, not each time you sit a test. In New South Wales the learner licence is $32 and the P1 licence is $74, from the New South Wales Government driver and rider licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026.
Queensland charges PrepL at $29.70 for 12 months of access, covering the course and the assessment, a learner licence at $80.15 issued for 3 years, and a provisional licence at $94.65 for one year, or $132.00, $163.25, $188.95 and $212.00 for 2, 3, 4 and 5 year terms, from the Queensland Government licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. Victoria charges about $52 at one appointment for the knowledge test and learner permit together, from this site's facts file checked 27 August 2026 because the VicRoads fee page did not return.
Fees you pay every time you sit a test
In New South Wales the in person Driver Knowledge Test is $58, the Hazard Perception Test is $58, and the driving test is $72 including GST, each charged again if you fail, from the New South Wales Government fee page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. Sit the knowledge test twice in person and you pay $116 for that stage.
Queensland prices the car practical test at $69.40 including GST for each attempt, from the Queensland Government licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. South Australia charges $40 for each theory attempt, online through myLs or in person at Service SA, checked 27 August 2026. Western Australia charges $22.40 for the first Computerised Theory Test and $19.20 for each resit, from the Department of Transport page checked 28 August 2026. Victoria's Hazard Perception Test is about $25, checked 27 August 2026.
What a failed test adds to the bill
A New South Wales learner who passes every test first time pays $32 for the learner licence, $58 for the Driver Knowledge Test, $58 for the Hazard Perception Test, $72 for the driving test and $74 for the P1 licence, which is $294. Fail the knowledge test once in person and fail the driving test once, then pass both on the second sitting, and the bill is $32 plus $58 plus $58 plus $58 plus $72 plus $72 plus $74, which is $424. That is $130 more than the clean run, from the New South Wales Government fee page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026.
If that same learner had taken DKT Online at $58 for unlimited attempts instead of paying $58 twice in person, the bill would have been $366 rather than $424, a saving of $58. A Queensland clean run with a one year provisional licence is PrepL $29.70, learner licence $80.15, practical test $69.40 and provisional licence $94.65, which is $273.90. One failed practical test adds another $69.40 and takes the bill to $343.30, from the Queensland Government licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026.
Queensland's statewide practical pass rate is about 61 per cent, and New South Wales is about 56 per cent, from this site's comparison data retrieved August 2026. Western Australia passed 42.3 per cent of 244,557 practical driving assessments at 22 centres, from Department of Transport freedom of information release 2026-0140. Two failed theory tests before a pass cost $22.40 plus $19.20 plus $19.20, which is $60.80 on the theory test alone. Centre rates sit at /data/driving-test-pass-rates.
The one permit that includes the first practical test
Western Australia is the only jurisdiction that bundles the first Practical Driving Assessment into the permit fee. The learner's permit application is $150.80 and includes that first assessment, from the Department of Transport Western Australia page checked 28 August 2026. Add the first Computerised Theory Test at $22.40 and the two published entry fees come to $173.20. A printed learner log book is $10.70 and optional, because Learn and Log inside the ServiceWA app is free.
The Hazard Perception Test fee is not published here. Further Practical Driving Assessments after the first are also not published here. Midland sits at 28.3 per cent and Cannington at 56.4 per cent in the same 2026-0140 release. A $173.20 entry total is not a licence total, and it should not be compared with the New South Wales $294 or the Queensland $273.90 as if it were.
Fees that are not published here
Tasmania's knowledge test is free through Service Tasmania, checked 27 August 2026, and that is the only Tasmanian fee verified here. The practical driving assessment and the licence issue fee are not published here. The Northern Territory has no verified fee at all, and the Australian Capital Territory has none because the Access Canberra fee pages did not return. The same gaps sit at /compare.
Hayley in Toowoomba, line by line
Hayley is a hypothetical learner in Toowoomba, Queensland. She starts PrepL at $29.70, covering the course and the assessment for 12 months, from the Queensland Government licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. She then pays $80.15 for a learner licence issued for 3 years. She books the Q-SAFE practical driving test, fails it once at $69.40 including GST, passes on the second attempt at another $69.40, and takes the one year provisional licence at $94.65.
The government total is $29.70 plus $80.15 plus $69.40 plus $69.40 plus $94.65, which is $343.30. That is the Queensland clean run of $273.90 plus one extra practical attempt. Choosing the five year provisional term at $212.00 instead of the one year at $94.65 adds $117.35 up front, covers four more years, and works out at $42.40 a year.
The same bill in eight short paragraphs
New South Wales. Published: learner licence $32 once, in person Driver Knowledge Test $58 each attempt or DKT Online $58 for unlimited attempts, Hazard Perception Test $58 each attempt, driving test $72 including GST each attempt, P1 licence $74 once. Totals: $294 clean, $424 with one in person knowledge fail and one driving fail, $366 if that path uses DKT Online. Source: New South Wales Government driver and rider licence fees, effective 1 July 2026, checked 28 August 2026. Practical pass rate about 56 per cent statewide, comparison data retrieved August 2026.
Victoria. Published: learner permit knowledge test and learner permit together about $52 at the one appointment, Hazard Perception Test about $25 sat before the drive test. Missing: the drive test fee, because no current VicRoads figure was read, and the probationary licence fee. Source: this site's state facts file, checked 27 August 2026, after the VicRoads fee page did not return. Statewide drive test pass rate 72.2 per cent across 492,504 tests from January 2024 to April 2026, released under freedom of information.
Queensland. Published: PrepL $29.70 for the course and assessment with 12 months of access, learner licence $80.15 issued for 3 years, practical driving test for a car $69.40 including GST each attempt, provisional licence $94.65 for one year or $132.00, $163.25, $188.95 and $212.00 for 2, 3, 4 and 5 year terms. Totals: $273.90 on a clean run with the one year provisional licence, $343.30 with one failed practical test. Source: Queensland Government licence fees, effective 1 July 2026, checked 28 August 2026. Statewide practical pass rate about 61 per cent, comparison data retrieved August 2026.
Western Australia. Published: Computerised Theory Test $22.40 first sitting and $19.20 each resit, learner's permit application $150.80 including one Practical Driving Assessment, optional printed learner log book $10.70. Missing: Hazard Perception Test, unconfirmed on the agency page, and every Practical Driving Assessment after the first. Entry total: $173.20. Two failed theory tests before a pass cost $60.80 on theory alone. Source: Department of Transport Western Australia, get your learner's permit, checked 28 August 2026. Practical pass rate 42.3 per cent across 244,557 assessments at 22 centres, Midland 28.3 per cent, Cannington 56.4 per cent, freedom of information release 2026-0140.
South Australia. Published: theory test $40 each attempt, the same online through myLs or in person at Service SA. Missing: the Driving Companion printed log book, the Vehicle On Road Test, and the provisional licence. Source: Service SA theory test information recorded in this site's facts file, checked 27 August 2026. No verified practical pass rate is held.
Tasmania. Published: knowledge test free, booked through Service Tasmania, the only free theory test of the eight. Missing: the practical driving assessment and the licence issue fee. Source: Service Tasmania knowledge test information recorded in this site's facts file, checked 27 August 2026. An indicative practical pass rate of about 86 per cent appears in this site's comparison data retrieved August 2026, but no Tasmanian publisher has been recorded against that figure, so it is unattributed and is not used to price a resit.
Northern Territory. Published: none verified here. Missing: the knowledge test, the licence issue fee, and the practical assessment. There is no runnable Northern Territory total, and no verified practical pass rate. The Northern Territory Government driver licence pages were consulted, and no fee on those pages has been verified for this guide.
Australian Capital Territory. Published: none verified here. Missing: every priced line, because the Access Canberra fee pages did not return when they were checked. There is no runnable Australian Capital Territory total, and no verified practical pass rate. A blank row is the accurate record.
Lessons, concessions, and why this is not a quote
Driving lessons are almost always the largest cost of getting a licence, and they are a private market with no published government schedule, so no honest figure for them can be given here. New South Wales has a Safer Drivers Course run by approved providers who set their own prices, so there is no published figure, even though the course buys 20 log book hours.
Concessions exist for some card holders, including in New South Wales, and they are not modelled here. A learner who holds a concession card should read the agency fee page, not this total. Fees also change: the New South Wales and Queensland figures are the amounts effective 1 July 2026, checked 28 August 2026, and they will move again. Confirm the current amount with the agency on the day you pay.
Common questions
- Question
- how much does a driving test cost in australia
- There is no single national price. The New South Wales driving test is $72 including GST for each attempt, and the Queensland practical test is $69.40 including GST for each attempt, both from those governments' licence fee pages effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. Western Australia includes the first Practical Driving Assessment in the $150.80 permit fee, then does not publish later assessment fees. Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have no verified practical test fee here.
- Question
- how much is the nsw driving test
- The New South Wales driving test is $72 including GST, charged for each attempt, from the New South Wales Government driver and rider licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. A clean run to a P1 licence also includes a $32 learner licence, a $58 Driver Knowledge Test, a $58 Hazard Perception Test, and a $74 P1 licence, which is $294. One failed knowledge test in person plus one failed driving test takes that to $424, or $366 if the knowledge stage was DKT Online.
- Question
- what if i fail my driving test how much extra
- In New South Wales another driving test is another $72. In Queensland another practical test is another $69.40. Those amounts come from the same 1 July 2026 fee pages checked 28 August 2026. A New South Wales learner who also failed the knowledge test once in person pays $130 more than the $294 clean run, which is $424, or $366 if the knowledge stage was DKT Online. Western Australia does not publish the fee for a Practical Driving Assessment after the first one, even though only 42.3 per cent of 244,557 assessments passed in freedom of information release 2026-0140.
- Question
- is the wa driving test included in the learner permit
- Yes. Western Australia is the only jurisdiction that bundles the first Practical Driving Assessment into the learner's permit application, which is $150.80, from the Department of Transport Western Australia page checked 28 August 2026. Add the first Computerised Theory Test at $22.40 and the published entry fees are $173.20. The printed log book is $10.70 and optional. Hazard perception is not published here. Further practical assessments after the first are not published here.
- Question
- qld provisional licence 1 year or 5 years cost
- The one year Queensland provisional licence is $94.65. The five year term is $212.00, which works out at $42.40 a year, against $94.65 for a single year, from the Queensland Government licence fees page effective 1 July 2026 and checked 28 August 2026. Choosing five years adds $117.35 up front and covers four more years. Queensland also sells 2, 3 and 4 year terms at $132.00, $163.25 and $188.95. A clean run with the one year term is $273.90 in government fees. One failed practical test makes that $343.30 before any lesson.
- Question
- why is the vic driving test fee not listed
- The drive test fee is not published here because no current VicRoads figure was read. The VicRoads fee page did not return when it was checked, so the figures that are stated, about $52 for the learner permit knowledge test and learner permit together and about $25 for the Hazard Perception Test, come from this site's state facts file checked 27 August 2026. The probationary licence fee is also unpublished here. Victoria passed 72.2 per cent of 492,504 drive tests from January 2024 to April 2026, released under freedom of information.
- Question
- does tasmania charge for the knowledge test
- No. The Tasmanian knowledge test is free, booked through Service Tasmania, from Service Tasmania knowledge test information recorded in this site's facts file and checked 27 August 2026. The practical driving assessment and the licence issue fee are not published here, so a free knowledge test is not a free path to a licence. An unattributed practical pass rate of about 86 per cent exists in this site's comparison data, with no Tasmanian publisher recorded, and it is not used to guess the missing fees.
- Question
- are driving lessons included in licence fees australia
- No. Driving lessons are a private market with no published government schedule, so no honest figure for them can be given here. The New South Wales Safer Drivers Course is also priced by approved providers, not by the agency, and it buys 20 log book hours. South Australia's competency based training and assessment pathway is priced by the instructor. Government totals on this page, including Hayley's $343.30 in Toowoomba, cover agency fees only.
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.
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 .