Photo: Zigzig20s, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Failed your driving test in Australia? You can rebook in every state and territory. How long you wait, what you pay again and whether your hazard perception pass is still valid all depend on where you live. This guide gives the official waiting periods for all eight jurisdictions as of November 2026, then a plan for using the gap well.
Key facts
- Shortest wait: the next day in Queensland (first fail) and the NT. Two days (48 hours) in the ACT for the one-off assessment.
- Seven days in NSW and WA. At least 13 clear days for SA’s VORT.
- You pay the test fee again in every state.
- No extra logbook hours are needed after a fail in NSW or Tasmania.
- On an interstate or overseas licence in Queensland, a fail withdraws your right to drive on that licence.
Retest waiting periods by state
| State | Earliest retest | Fee again (Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | At least 7 days after the failed test | $72 |
| VIC | Check with VicRoads when you rebook | $53.20 test plus $22.10 appointment fee |
| QLD | 1st fail: next day. 2nd fail: 8th day. 3rd and later: 29th day | $69.40 |
| WA | At least 7 days before booking another PDA | $120.50 |
| SA (VORT) | At least 13 clear days (an older page says 14), or switch to CBT&A | Set by the VORT instructor |
| TAS | Check with Transport Tasmania when you rebook | $108.93 (government assessor) |
| ACT (one-off) | 48 hours | $133.90 |
| NT | The next day | Set by the examiner |
Is my hazard perception pass still valid?
| State | HPT validity | What it means for a retest |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 15 months | Pass the Driving Test inside 15 months or resit the HPT |
| QLD | Pass once | No resit needed |
| WA | 5 years | No resit needed for most learners |
| TAS | 12 months | Pass the P1 assessment inside 12 months or resit the HPT |
| ACT | Does not expire | No resit needed |
| VIC | 12 months | Pass the drive test inside 12 months of the HPT pass or resit the HPT |
| SA | Check with Service SA | Ask before you rebook |
More on each state’s HPT: hazard perception tests compared.
State notes
NSW
You get general comments, not a lesson. Rebook at the counter or online. You do not need more log book hours. If you think the test was unfair, contact the test centre manager. Guide: NSW Driving Test.
Victoria
Test and appointment fees apply to each booking. One trap: if you turn up under 21 without proof of 120 hours (20 at night), you cannot sit the test, your fees are forfeited and you must wait at least six weeks. Guide: VicRoads drive test fails.
Queensland
The cooling-off period grows with each fail, so a third fail pushes you about four weeks out. Interstate and overseas licence holders who fail lose their authority to drive on that licence and need a supervisor. Guide: Q-Safe re-sit rules.
Western Australia
The assessor explains where you fell short. Keep logging trips in Learn&Log until you get your licence. Guide: WA Practical Driving Assessment.
South Australia
After a failed VORT you can retest after the waiting period, or move to CBT&A and have each task signed off by an instructor. Guide: VORT or CBT&A.
Tasmania
The assessor explains what to work on, and you may get a feedback form and a copy of your assessment sheet. Keep the logbook app so you can show the declaration next time. Guide: Tasmanian P1 driving assessment.
ACT
The examiner emails a report showing where you were “not yet competent”. Access Canberra warns that more than 50 per cent of people fail their driving test. Guide: CBT&A or the one-off assessment.
Northern Territory
You get a test sheet showing where to improve. The official guide suggests waiting a few days to practise, even though you can retest the next day. Guide: NT practical driving test.
What to fix before you rebook
- Read your feedback sheet the same day. Write down every item marked against you while you remember the moment.
- Sort errors into two groups. Fail items (speeding, failing to give way, crossing a stop line, an examiner stepping in) need to disappear completely. Score items (late signals, missed head checks) need consistency.
- Practise the exact situations. If you missed head checks on lane changes, do 20 lane changes on your next drive with your supervisor watching only for that.
- Book one lesson focused on the errors. An instructor who knows the local test routes can drive you through similar roads.
- Do a mock test. Your supervisor stays silent except for directions, as the examiner would.
- Do not rebook for the earliest possible slot unless the error was a one-off. A rushed retest costs another fee.
The mistakes that most often end tests
- Speed: missing a speed change, a school zone or roadworks. This is the ACT’s top listed mistake and a fail item in NSW, WA and the NT.
- Blind spots: no head check before changing lanes or merging. In the NT, 3 or more missed observation checks is a fail.
- Stop and give way lines: rolling over the line, or not stopping completely.
- Hesitation: refusing a clearly safe gap can fail you in NSW and the NT.
- Manoeuvres: touching or mounting the kerb, or going outside the tolerance (for example, more than 1 metre from the kerb in the NT).
See also practical driving tests in every state compared and the driving test day checklist.
Common questions
Do I have to pay again after failing?
Yes, in every state. NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, TAS and the ACT charge the published test fee each time. In SA and the NT you pay the instructor or examiner again.
Is there a limit on how many times I can fail?
Queensland makes you wait longer after each repeated fail. For any limit in your state, check with your licensing agency.
Do I need more logbook hours after failing?
Not in NSW or Tasmania, which say so directly. Elsewhere your logged hours still count. Keep logging anyway: it builds the skills you were marked down on.
Can I drive myself home after failing?
No. You are still a learner and need a supervisor. NSW says the person who comes with you must drive the car away if you fail.
Can I appeal a fail?
NSW says to contact the manager of the test centre if you think the test was unfair. Other states handle complaints through the transport department. A complaint does not usually change the result, so rebook as well.
What if my learner licence expires while I am rebooking?
Renew it before you retest. In the NT, a test taken while your licence is expired is not valid. In Queensland, the HPT also needs a current licence.
Sources
- Transport for NSW, “Guide to the Driving Test” (nsw.gov.au)
- NSW Government, “Hazard Perception Test” and “Licence and test fees” (nsw.gov.au)
- Transport Victoria, “Drive test for a Victorian driver’s licence” (transport.vic.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Planning, “Road to Solo Driving” handbook (transport.vic.gov.au)
- Queensland Government, “Practical driving tests” and “Licence fees” (qld.gov.au)
- Queensland Government, “Transport Operations (Road Use Management: Driver Licensing) Regulation 2021” (legislation.qld.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Pass your PDA” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Government of South Australia, “The Driver’s Handbook (MR200, February 2026)” (mylicence.sa.gov.au)
- Transport Services Tasmania, “About your driving assessment” and “Licensing and assessment fees” (transport.tas.gov.au)
- Department of State Growth, “Hazard perception test FAQs” (platesplus.tas.gov.au)
- Access Canberra, “One off practical driving assessment” (accesscanberra.act.gov.au)
- Safe Plates Testing, “Hazard Perception Test” (safeplatestesting.act.gov.au)
- Motor Vehicle Registry, “A guide to the Driving Test”, 2nd Edition, April 2026 (nt.gov.au)
- VicRoads, “Hazard Perception Test” (vicroads.vic.gov.au)