Photo: Arunangshu Banerjee, Pexels
In every Australian state and territory, you must tell the licensing authority about a long-term medical condition, disability or treatment that could affect your driving. Western Australia’s transport department notes that this kind of mandatory reporting applies in every state and territory. Reporting does not usually mean losing your licence: many drivers keep driving with conditions such as wearing glasses or reviews at set intervals. This guide covers when to report in each state, what happens next, eyesight tests for learners, and how conditional licences work.
Key facts
- You declare medical conditions when you apply for a learner licence, and you must report new or worsening conditions while you hold a licence.
- Licensing authorities decide fitness to drive using the national Assessing Fitness to Drive standards published by Austroads.
- Most learner applications include an eyesight test. If you need glasses or contacts to pass, your licence will say you must wear them when driving.
- In the ACT, you must report a condition within 7 days of becoming aware of it.
- In WA, not reporting a long-term condition that may affect safe driving is an offence that can carry a fine.
- Reporting often ends in a conditional licence, not a cancelled one.
What is Assessing Fitness to Drive?
Assessing Fitness to Drive is the national set of medical standards used across Australia. Your doctor applies it when filling in a licensing medical form, and the licensing authority uses it to decide whether you get:
- an unconditional licence (no restrictions), or
- a conditional licence, for example with periodic medical reviews, a requirement to wear glasses, or limits on where and when you drive.
WA, SA, the ACT and Tasmania all name these national standards as the basis for their decisions. Requirements are stricter for heavy vehicle and commercial drivers.
Which conditions might you need to report?
WA and SA give example lists. Conditions that commonly need assessment include:
- blackouts, fainting, seizures and epilepsy
- diabetes treated with medication (insulin or tablets)
- heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions, including pacemakers
- eye conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts
- neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and head injury
- musculoskeletal conditions, including amputations and conditions causing chronic pain or restricted movement
- psychiatric and mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
- sleep disorders
- alcohol and substance misuse
Having a condition on this list does not automatically stop you driving. The test is whether it is likely to affect your ability to drive safely. If you are unsure, ask your doctor or call the licensing authority.
Neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism
WA’s list of neurological conditions includes neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. Queensland’s transport department has clarified that autism alone does not trigger reporting: you report only if it is likely to affect safe driving. Talk to your doctor about whether your condition or its medication affects your driving, and declare it honestly on your application.
When to report in each state
| Jurisdiction | What you must do | Who to contact |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | State any medical condition or disability that could affect your driving when you apply, and pass an eyesight test. Tell Transport for NSW if you develop a condition once licensed. Some conditions, such as epilepsy or cardiovascular conditions, need regular medical assessments. | Transport for NSW |
| Victoria | If you have a disability or illness that may affect your driving, bring a medical report to your learner permit test. Learners and licence holders must tell VicRoads about any condition or injury that may affect driving. Serious, permanent or long-term conditions go to VicRoads Medical Review. | VicRoads Medical Review |
| Queensland | Report long-term or permanent conditions likely to impair your driving, and any worsening of a condition already reported. Temporary conditions generally don’t need reporting unless they become long-term. A medical certificate usually goes with the report. | Transport and Main Roads (TMR) |
| WA | Declare conditions and medications on the licence application form (DLA1). If you hold a permit or licence, report a permanent or long-term condition, injury or treatment that is likely to impair driving, online, on form M109A or by letter. | Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) |
| SA | Declare any illness, disease or disability on your application or renewal. Both you and your doctor are required to report conditions that could affect safe driving. You can call Service SA on 13 10 84 to notify. | Registrar of Motor Vehicles, via Service SA |
| Tasmania | Talk to your doctor, then notify the Registrar if your driving will be affected. Tasmania’s guidance stresses this is your legal responsibility, not your doctor’s. | Registrar of Motor Vehicles (Transport Tasmania) |
| ACT | Report a permanent or long-term illness, injury or incapacity that may affect safe driving within 7 days of becoming aware of it. Call 13 22 81 if you are unsure. | Access Canberra |
| NT | NT law requires drivers and intending drivers to notify the Registrar of any condition, including disability, mental illness or eyesight, that could affect safe driving. Health professionals must also notify the Registrar if they believe a patient’s condition could affect driving. | Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR), 1300 654 628 |
What if you don’t report?
- WA: failing to notify DTMI of a long-term condition that may affect safe driving is an offence, and the penalty may include a fine.
- Queensland: TMR says not reporting can lead to a court fine (listed at more than $9,600) and possible licence cancellation. Check the current figure with TMR.
- NSW: failing to follow medical direction can lead to losing your licence.
- SA: if you are sent a fitness-to-drive notice and don’t act on it by the due date, your licence may be suspended.
What happens after you report?
- The authority reviews what you sent and writes to tell you what, if anything, is needed.
- A medical assessment with your GP, on the state’s form. Your doctor completes the medical section and usually sends it straight to the authority. Some conditions need a specialist letter.
- Possibly a driving assessment. WA may ask you to pass a Practical Driving Assessment. In the NT and Tasmania, some conditions need an on-road assessment with an occupational therapist.
- A decision: no change, a conditional licence, review dates, or in some cases suspension until you are fit to drive.
In SA, once you have submitted your certificate of fitness, you can keep driving unless your doctor or Service SA tells you otherwise. In WA, if you aren’t passed fit before your licence expires, you can’t drive until the medical requirements are complete and the licence is renewed. Tasmania’s guidance says you pay for any assessments you need; ask Medicare whether you can claim the consultation.
Eyesight tests for learners
| Jurisdiction | Eyesight check when you apply |
|---|---|
| NSW | You must pass an eyesight test when you apply for your licence. |
| Victoria | The learner permit test includes reading an eyesight chart. If you have poor vision, bring an eyesight certificate from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. The probationary licence test includes an eyesight check too. |
| WA | You take an eyesight test when you apply for your learner’s permit. If you need glasses or contacts to pass, your permit and licence are endorsed to say you must wear them. |
| SA | If you have a vision condition that needs assessment, you need an Eyesight Certificate from your doctor or an eyesight specialist. If corrective lenses are needed, an ‘S’ condition goes on your licence. It can be removed later with a new eyesight certificate (form MR204). |
| NT | Passing an eyesight test is one of the steps to a learner licence. |
| ACT | The ACT handbook requires eyesight tests for some applicants, such as people transferring an interstate licence. ACT drivers also take an eye test at ages 50, 60, 65 and 70. |
| Queensland, Tasmania | Check the eyesight requirement with TMR or Transport Tasmania when you book your learner test. |
Bring your glasses or contacts to the learner test if you normally wear them for distance.
Conditional licences: what they look like
Examples of conditions from the handbooks and transport pages:
- wear glasses or contact lenses while driving (WA, SA, NT)
- take medication as prescribed (WA)
- drive only automatic vehicles (NSW, NT)
- vehicle modifications or driving aids (NSW, Victoria)
- limits on distance, local roads only, or daylight or off-peak driving only (Victoria)
- regular medical reviews, which may mean a shorter licence period (WA, ACT, SA)
WA says your licence card shows only the condition, such as the need for visual aids, not your diagnosis. Medical information you give DTMI is kept confidential. If a condition affects how you physically control a car, see learning to drive with a disability in Australia. Automatic-only conditions: automatic licence conditions in each state.
Medicines and short-term illness
Queensland says temporary conditions generally don’t need reporting unless they become long-term, but you still must not drive if you are not fit to. SA’s handbook puts it simply: if you feel you are not in a fit state to drive, don’t drive. Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines affect driving, and learners and P platers face zero drug rules. See drug driving, prescription medicines and medicinal cannabis and zero alcohol for learners and P platers.
Scenario: a learner with type 1 diabetes
You are 16, applying for your Ls in WA, and you use insulin. You declare it on form DLA1 in the health and medical questions section. The customer service officer tells you whether you need a medical assessment before your learner’s permit can be issued. If you do, you see your doctor with the form, the doctor sends it to DTMI, and DTMI writes with the outcome, which may include review dates. Then you carry on with the theory test and the rest of the steps as normal.
Common questions
Do I have to tell the licensing authority about ADHD or anxiety?
Only if the condition or its treatment is likely to affect your ability to drive safely. Ask your doctor, and declare it honestly on your application if you are unsure. The authority decides using national standards.
Will reporting a condition mean I can’t get my Ls?
Usually not. The NT handbook notes that very few conditions prevent a licence being issued, and many drivers with medical conditions drive with conditions on their licence.
Does my doctor have to report me?
It depends on the state. In SA and the NT, health professionals are also expected to report. In Tasmania, the guidance says reporting is your responsibility, not your doctor’s. In every state, you should not rely on your doctor to report for you.
I passed the eyesight test with glasses. Can I drive without them?
No. If your licence carries a corrective lenses condition, you must wear them whenever you drive. In SA you can apply to remove the ‘S’ condition with an eyesight certificate completed by your doctor or optometrist.
Can I sit the driving test with a medical condition?
Yes, once the authority has cleared you. In Victoria, if you have a condition you haven’t told VicRoads about, you must bring a medical certificate stating your fitness to drive to the drive test.
What about older drivers?
Some states add age-based checks on top of these rules. See older drivers’ licence rules in each state.
Back to the overview: learner licence rules in every Australian state compared.
Sources
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Report a medical condition” and “Fitness to drive” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Drive Safe: A handbook for Western Australian road users”, The Six Steps to a Provisional Licence (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Transport for NSW, “Road User Handbook”, Medical conditions and disability (nsw.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Planning Victoria, “Road to Solo Driving” handbook, The 10 steps to getting your licence (vicroads.vic.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Planning Victoria, “Ageing and safe driving” (transport.vic.gov.au)
- Queensland Government, “When you must tell us about your medical condition”, “Medical fitness to drive” and “Reporting your medical condition” (qld.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Main Roads, “Fitness to drive in Queensland” media statement (tmr.qld.gov.au)
- Government of South Australia, “The Driver’s Handbook” (MR200, February 2026), Medical fitness to drive (mylicence.sa.gov.au)
- Government of South Australia, “Report a medical condition”, “Submit your certificate of fitness” and “Remove an eyesight condition from your licence” (sa.gov.au)
- Department of State Growth Tasmania, “Ceasing compulsory medicals for drivers aged 75 and over in Tasmania: frequently asked questions” (transport.tas.gov.au)
- Access Canberra, “Medical conditions and fitness to drive” (accesscanberra.act.gov.au)
- ACT Government, “ACT Road Rules Handbook”, Medical Information (accesscanberra.act.gov.au)
- Northern Territory Government, “Road Users’ Handbook”, Medical fitness to hold a licence (nt.gov.au)