Tools
What is the learners test pass mark in each Australian state?
In Australia, 7 of the 8 Australian states and territories publish a learner knowledge test pass mark this site verified against the responsible agency, and counted section by section those marks allow between no wrong answers and 10 wrong answers. The tightest section is Part one, give way rules in South Australia, 8 of 8 correct with no wrong answers allowed. The most room in one section goes to Part two, general road rules in South Australia, 32 of 42 correct with 10 wrong answers allowed. Tasmania publish no pass mark this site could verify, so none is stated for them. Source: each state and territory agency, with the check date shown for each mark.
Every jurisdiction sets its own margin, and they are nothing like each other. Put a practice score in below and see whether it would have held up against the real mark.
Pick the jurisdiction you are sitting in, put the score from a practice run into each section, and the panel underneath says whether that run would have cleared the real mark. It is arithmetic against a published pass mark, not a prediction of anything.
- What it needs from you
- A jurisdiction, and how many you got right in each section of a practice run.
- What it gives back
- Pass or fail against the real mark, the margin each section allows, and how many wrong answers you made against it.
- Where the marks come from
- The pass mark published by each agency. The Victorian figure is the one place arithmetic is done, and the panel says so on the spot.
- What it will not do
- Score a Tasmanian run. Its pass mark has not been verified, so the tool refuses rather than using an unsourced number.
The test you are sitting
NSW Driver Knowledge Test. Two sections, and you have to pass both. Three wrong answers are allowed in the first and one in the second.
That would have passed
That is a pass, on the exact mark, with nothing spare. One more wrong answer and it is a fail.
- General knowledge
- 13 of 15, needs 12
- 3 wrong answers allowed, you made 2.
- Road safety
- 29 of 30, needs 29
- 1 wrong answers allowed, you made 1.
Every margin, drawn to scale
The bar is the whole test. The filled part is what you have to get right, and the pale part is the entire room for error.
How much room each test gives you
Two sections in one jurisdiction can have completely different margins, which is why the New South Wales test is drawn as two bars rather than one.
- NSW: General knowledge3 wrong allowed12 of 15 correct to pass.
- NSW: Road safety1 wrong allowed29 of 30 correct to pass.
- VIC: VIC learner permit knowledge test7 wrong allowed25 of 32 correct to pass. The number needed is worked out from a published percentage rather than published as a count.
- QLD: QLD PrepL3 wrong allowed27 of 30 correct to pass.
- WA: WA theory test6 wrong allowed24 of 30 correct to pass.
- SA: Part one, give way rules0 wrong allowed8 of 8 correct to pass.
- SA: Part two, general road rules10 wrong allowed32 of 42 correct to pass.
- NT: NT DriveSafe NT knowledge test4 wrong allowed26 of 30 correct to pass.
- ACT: ACT knowledge test4 wrong allowed31 of 35 correct to pass.
The filled part of each bar is the share you have to get right. The pale part is the whole margin for error.
Question counts and pass marks as published by each agency, with source dates shown in the table below. Tasmania has no verified mark and therefore no bar.
The margin in every jurisdiction
The number that matters is not the pass mark. It is how many wrong answers it leaves you.
| Where | Test | Questions | To pass | Wrong answers allowed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | General knowledge | 15 | 12 | 3 | Source: Transport for NSW and Service NSW, checked 27 August 2026. |
| New South Wales | Road safety | 30 | 29 | 1 | Source: Transport for NSW and Service NSW, checked 27 August 2026. |
| Victoria | VIC learner permit knowledge test | 32 | 25, worked out from a published percentage | 7 | Source: VicRoads, checked 27 August 2026. VicRoads publishes the pass mark as 78 percent. 78 percent of 32 questions is 24.96, so 25 correct is the first whole number that clears it. The 25 is our arithmetic, not a figure VicRoads prints. |
| Queensland | QLD PrepL | 30 | 27 | 3 | Source: Department of Transport and Main Roads, checked 27 August 2026. |
| Western Australia | WA theory test | 30 | 24 | 6 | Source: Department of Transport, checked 27 August 2026. |
| South Australia | Part one, give way rules | 8 | 8 | 0 | Source: Service SA, checked 27 August 2026. |
| South Australia | Part two, general road rules | 42 | 32 | 10 | Source: Service SA, checked 27 August 2026. |
| Tasmania | TAS knowledge test | Not published here | Not published here | Not published here | Source: Service Tasmania, checked 27 August 2026. |
| Northern Territory | NT DriveSafe NT knowledge test | 30 | 26 | 4 | Source: Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence and driver and rider licence fees, read 3 September 2026. |
| Australian Capital Territory | ACT knowledge test | 35 | 31 | 4 | Source: ACT Government, checked 27 August 2026. |
What the margins tell you to practise
A wide margin and a narrow margin are different tests, and they reward different preparation.
Western Australia allows six wrong answers out of 30, which is the widest margin published anywhere in the country. You can walk in with a few soft spots and still pass. Queensland allows three out of 30, and the assessment sits at the end of a course people have already spent four to six hours on, which is why so many stall on the last step rather than the first.
New South Wales and South Australia are the two that punish a single topic. The New South Wales road safety section allows one wrong answer out of 30, so one shaky give way rule is the whole sitting. South Australian part one is eight give way questions with no margin at all: eight questions, eight correct answers, and the intersection diagrams are the reason people repeat it.
If you are practising against a narrow margin, drilling your worst topic is worth more than another full sitting. If the margin is wide, full sittings under time are the better use of an evening.
Common questions
Every answer here is built from the same question counts and pass marks the table above prints, and carries the agency behind it.
- How many questions can you get wrong in an Australian learner knowledge test?
- 7 of the 8 Australian states and territories publish a learner knowledge test pass mark this site verified against the responsible agency, and counted section by section those marks allow between no wrong answers and 10 wrong answers. The tightest section is Part one, give way rules in South Australia, 8 of 8 correct with no wrong answers allowed. The most room in one section goes to Part two, general road rules in South Australia, 32 of 42 correct with 10 wrong answers allowed. Tasmania publish no pass mark this site could verify, so none is stated for them. Source: each state and territory agency, with the check date shown for each mark.
- What is the pass mark for the NSW Driver Knowledge Test?
- General knowledge: 12 of 15 correct, 3 wrong answers allowed. Road safety: 29 of 30 correct, 1 wrong answer allowed. Two sections, and you have to pass both. Three wrong answers are allowed in the first and one in the second. Source: Transport for NSW and Service NSW, checked 27 August 2026.
- How is the pass mark for the VIC learner permit knowledge test worked out?
- Learner permit knowledge test: 25 of 32 correct, 7 wrong answers allowed. One section of 32 questions at a published 78 percent. VicRoads publishes the pass mark as 78 percent. 78 percent of 32 questions is 24.96, so 25 correct is the first whole number that clears it. The 25 is our arithmetic, not a figure VicRoads prints. Source: VicRoads, checked 27 August 2026.
- Why does this site state no pass mark for Tasmania?
- We have not verified a question count or a pass mark for the Tasmanian knowledge test, so this tool will not calculate one. Other sites carry numbers here. We are not repeating them until Service Tasmania confirms them. Source: Service Tasmania, checked 27 August 2026.
- Which section of an Australian learner test leaves the least room for error?
- Part one, give way rules in South Australia, 8 of 8 correct with no wrong answers allowed. Two parts. Part one has no margin at all: eight give way questions and eight correct answers. Source: Service SA, checked 27 August 2026.
One we will not calculate
Tasmania has no question count or pass mark that we have been able to verify against Service Tasmania, so the tool will not score a Tasmanian run. The Northern Territory Government confirms 26 correct out of 30, and the tool scores against that mark. Source: Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence and driver and rider licence fees, read 3 September 2026.
The Victorian figure is the one place we do arithmetic. VicRoads publishes the pass mark as 78 percent of 32 questions, which is 24.96, so 25 correct is the first whole number that clears it. The 25 is ours. The 78 percent is theirs.
Knowing the margin is not the same as having it. Practise against the real New South Wales question bank or your own jurisdiction's original practice questions, then come back and put the score in here. The question count for every state and territory sits beside these marks.
The pages these figures come from
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.