By state
How many questions are in the learner test in each Australian state?
The confirmed question counts run from 30 in Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory to 50 in South Australia, which asks 8 give way questions and then 42 general ones. Tasmania is the one jurisdiction with no confirmed count here. The counts do not track the difficulty: New South Wales allows one wrong answer across its 30 road safety questions, and South Australia allows none at all across its first 8. Every figure below was read off the agency page named under its row, in a facts file reviewed on 27 August 2026.
The table
Every learner theory test, side by side
One row per jurisdiction: the agency that sets the test, what the sitting is called, how many questions it asks, the mark that passes it, and the fee where one has been read off an agency page.
| State or territory | Agency | Official test | Questions and format | Pass mark | Test fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Transport for NSW and Service NSW | NSW Driver Knowledge Test | 45 questions. General knowledge: 15; Road safety: 30 | 12 of 15, then 29 of 30 | Being verified |
| Victoria | VicRoads | VIC learner permit knowledge test | 32 questions | 78% correct | About $52 |
| Queensland | Department of Transport and Main Roads | QLD PrepL | 30 questions | 27 of 30, which is 90% | $29.70 |
| Western Australia | Department of Transport | WA theory test | 30 questions | 24 of 30 | $22.40 |
| South Australia | Service SA | SA theory test | Two parts, 8 then 42. Part one, give way rules: 8; Part two, general road rules: 42 | 8 of 8, then 32 of 42 | $40 |
| Tasmania | Service Tasmania | TAS knowledge test | Being verified | Being verified | Free |
| Northern Territory | Northern Territory Government | NT DriveSafe NT knowledge test | 30 questions | 26 of 30 | $20 |
| Australian Capital Territory | ACT Government | ACT knowledge test | 35 questions | 31 of 35 | Being verified |
Current agency names only, spelled the way each agency spells itself. The facts file behind the table was reviewed on 27 August 2026, and a source line that names a later date was re-read on that date.
Each test, and where its figures came from
The count and the pass mark are the two figures people search for. They are not the whole answer, so every jurisdiction gets the shape of its own sitting, the thing that catches people out in it, and the document its row was read from.
New South Wales: NSW Driver Knowledge Test, 45 questions
The Driver Knowledge Test runs 45 questions in two sections. The 15 general knowledge questions allow three wrong answers. The 30 road safety questions allow one. Transport for NSW publishes the car question bank in full, which is what you practise here. Since 2024 the agency has been moving learners onto DKT Online, a 4 to 6 hour course with the test at the end on a single fee.
The road safety section is where sittings end. 29 correct out of 30 means one slip on a give way rule or a speed limit is the whole test.
Test fee: Being verified.
Source: Transport for NSW, Driver Knowledge Test question bank for cars (CC BY 4.0). Set by Transport for NSW and Service NSW.
Victoria: VIC learner permit knowledge test, 32 questions
The learner permit knowledge test asks 32 multiple choice questions and needs 78% correct. It is sat as part of the learner permit appointment. Our Victorian questions are written from scratch against the current road rules, with the rule cited on every answer, because the Victorian handbook and legislation are Crown copyright rather than open licensed.
More than one Victorian drive test in five ends early. The examiner stops the drive on a critical error, so the fail can arrive long before the route does.
Test fee: About $52. Test and learner permit fees together.
Source: VicRoads learner permit knowledge test and fee schedule. Set by VicRoads.
Queensland: QLD PrepL, 30 questions
PrepL is an online course of roughly 4 to 6 hours, finished with a 30 question assessment that needs 27 correct. You can start from 15 years and 11 months of age. The 90% bar is the highest of any learner assessment in the country, so the drill here is built around the topics that cost people those three answers.
27 out of 30. Queensland gives you three wrong answers across the whole assessment, which is why people who breeze the course still stall at the end of it.
Test fee: $29.70. Covers the PrepL course and the assessment. Read on the Queensland agency page, which supersedes the $28.70 we carried earlier.
Source: Department of Transport and Main Roads, PrepL course and fees. Set by Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Western Australia: WA theory test, 30 questions
The Western Australian theory test asks 30 multiple choice questions and needs 24 correct. Each sitting is charged separately, so resits add up. Our Western Australian questions are original and cite the road rule behind each answer, because the state handbook is Crown copyright.
Fewer than half of Western Australian practical assessments pass, and the gap between centres is close to 30 points. Where you book matters more here than anywhere else.
Test fee: $22.40. Charged for each sitting, not once. The first sitting is $22.40 and each resit after it is $19.20. Read on the Western Australian agency page, which supersedes the $18.20 we carried earlier.
Source: Department of Transport WA, theory test and assessment fees. Set by Department of Transport.
South Australia: SA theory test, Two parts, 8 then 42
The South Australian theory test comes in two parts. Part one is eight give way questions and all eight have to be correct. Part two is 42 questions with 32 correct to pass. After the theory test South Australia splits again: either the one off Vehicle On Road Test, or competency based training and assessment recorded in a logbook with an accredited instructor.
Part one has no margin at all. Eight give way questions, eight correct answers, and the intersection diagrams are the reason most people repeat it.
Test fee: $40. Sat online through myLs or in person at Service SA.
Source: Service SA, theory test structure and fees. Set by Service SA.
Tasmania: TAS knowledge test, Being verified
The Tasmanian knowledge test is booked through Service Tasmania and carries no fee, which makes it the cheapest entry point in the country. We are checking the current question count and pass mark against the Tasmanian source before we publish them, rather than repeating the numbers other sites carry.
Tasmania is the softest landing in the country on paper, which is exactly why people arrive underprepared for the practical.
Test fee: Free. Booked through Service Tasmania.
Source: Service Tasmania, knowledge test booking and fees. Set by Service Tasmania.
Northern Territory: NT DriveSafe NT knowledge test, 30 questions
The Northern Territory theory test asks 30 multiple choice questions, drawn at random from a pool of more than 300, and you need at least 26 correct to pass. It is sat at a Motor Vehicle Registry office when you lodge the learner licence application, or it is covered by DriveSafe NT enrolment. Those figures were read on the Northern Territory Government Get your driver licence page and its fee page on 3 September 2026. Every Northern Territory question we publish is original and cites the road rule behind the answer.
The Northern Territory is the least documented system in the country, and the figures circulating on other practice sites are rarely traced to a Territory page. Everything here was read on nt.gov.au on 3 September 2026, and the practical assessment fee stays blank because a candidate outside DriveSafe NT pays the authorised examiner directly.
Test fee: $20. Sat at a Motor Vehicle Registry office. DriveSafe NT enrolment is $110 and covers it, along with the learner and provisional licence fees.
Source: Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence and driver and rider licence fees, read 3 September 2026. Set by Northern Territory Government.
Australian Capital Territory: ACT knowledge test, 35 questions
The Australian Capital Territory knowledge test asks 35 questions and needs 31 correct, which leaves room for four wrong answers. The current fee is being checked against the source before publication. Our questions here are original and cite the road rule behind each answer.
31 out of 35 is a tighter bar than most learners expect from a small jurisdiction, and the territory sits inside New South Wales road rules that differ in places.
Test fee: Being verified.
Source: ACT Government, knowledge test requirements. Set by ACT Government.
How to read these counts
Three things that stop a question count being read as a difficulty ranking.
A bigger test is not a harder test
South Australia asks 50 questions and Western Australia asks 30, and the Western Australian learner is the one facing the hardest practical assessment in the country afterwards. The count tells you how long you will be sitting there. The pass mark next to it tells you how much room you have.
Two part tests do not average out
New South Wales and South Australia both split the sitting, and in both places the smaller part is the strict one. Twenty nine of 30 on road safety, and 8 of 8 on give way rules, are not marks you can make up elsewhere in the paper, because each part is passed on its own.
A blank is a real answer
Tasmania has no count and no pass mark on this page, and New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory carry no fee. Those cells are not oversights. They are the places where no agency page has been read, and they stay empty until one is, because copying a figure from another practice site is not checking it.
Questions this table answers
Which Australian learner test has the most questions?
South Australia, with 50. It is asked in two parts: 8 give way questions where every answer has to be correct, then 42 general road rules questions needing 32 correct. New South Wales is next at 45, split into 15 general knowledge questions and 30 road safety questions. Tasmania carries no count here because none has been confirmed against a source in that jurisdiction.
Which learner test has the fewest questions?
Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory each ask 30. The counts do not rank the tests on their own, because the pass marks behind them differ: Queensland needs 27 of those 30, the Northern Territory needs 26 and Western Australia needs 24.
Which pass mark leaves the least room for a wrong answer?
The New South Wales road safety section, at 29 of 30, so one wrong answer ends the sitting. The South Australian first part is tighter still in one sense, because all 8 give way questions have to be correct. Queensland asks for 27 of 30 in a single assessment, which is 90 percent.
What does the learner theory test cost in each state?
Of the fees checked against an agency page: Victoria about $52, Queensland $29.70, Western Australia $22.40, South Australia $40, Tasmania free, Northern Territory $20. New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory carry no fee on this page, because none was read off the agency for the facts file reviewed on 27 August 2026.
Which figures on this page are still being verified?
Tasmania has no confirmed question count and no confirmed pass mark, which is why both cells read "Being verified". 7 of the 8 pass marks and 6 of the 8 fees are confirmed. Repeating the numbers other practice sites carry is not the same as checking them, so those cells stay empty until an agency page states the figure.
The pages these counts come from
Each jurisdiction page carries the same figures in context, next to the ladder of practice tests that goes with them.
Related
- How many questions you can get wrongThe same pass marks turned into a margin, drawn to scale, with a check against a practice score.
- All 8 systems side by sideThe wider table: fees, logbook hours, practical pass rates and the motorcycle class as well.
- How long each test takesThe written guide behind these counts: how long a sitting runs, and what happens when you fail one.
- Logbook hours by stateThe supervised driving hours each jurisdiction asks for before the practical test.
Last checked 27 August 2026.