Learner and probationary drivers crossing state borders

Victorian Learner Driver driving in NSW

Carrying your licence

You must carry your learner permit card when driving.

Displaying L plates

You must display your Victorian ‘L’ plates while driving.

When driving, you must display your Victorian ‘L’ Plates on the exterior of the vehicle in a conspicuous position at the front and rear of the vehicle, or on the roof of the vehicle. The whole ‘L’ plate needs to be clearly visible.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a S condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an ‘A’ condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Mobile Phone Use

You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

For more information please visit Mobile phones page on the Transport for NSW website.

Speed

You must drive within the posted speed limit and at a speed that’s safe for the conditions of the road environment that you are in. NSW learner permit holders have licence restrictions limiting the speed they can drive at. This restriction does not apply to Victorian learner permit holders driving in NSW.  

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

You cannot tow another vehicle or trailer. You also cannot be towed by another vehicle.

Driving with a Supervisor

You must drive with a supervising driver who has a full and current Australian driver licence.

Supervising Driver Rules

Whilst supervising your learner driver you must take all reasonable precautions to prevent the learner from breaking the road law i.e. speeding.

As a supervising driver you must not have a prescribed concentration of alcohol of 0.05 or greater.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in New South Wales for more than three months, you must change your learner permit or driver licence over to a New South Wales learner permit or driver licence. You can find out more at: Moving your interstate licence to NSW.

NSW Learner Driver driving in Victoria

Carrying your licence

You must carry your learner permit card when driving.

Displaying L plates 

You must display your NSW ‘L’ plates while driving.

When driving, an ‘L’ plate must be displayed facing out from the front and rear of the motor vehicle so that the letter ‘L’ is clearly visible from a distance of 20 meters behind the vehicle.

Only learner permit holders should drive when ‘L’ plates are displayed. It is an offence for other licence holders to drive when ‘L’ plates are displayed.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a S condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an “A” condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Mobile phone use

You must comply with the condition on your licence. You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

Speed

You must not drive faster than 90km/h and at a speed that is safe for the conditions of the road environment that you are in. This NSW licence restriction applies while driving in Victoria.

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

You cannot tow a trailer unless you are driving a tractor.

Tractor use

NSW learner drivers can drive a tractor in Victoria but only if their NSW learner permit would authorise them to drive a tractor in NSW.

Driving with a Supervisor

You must drive with a supervising driver who has a full and current Australian driver licence.

Supervising Driver Rules

You must ensure your learner driver is displaying ‘L’ plates at all times.

As a supervising driver you must not permit a learner driver to drive above the posted speed limit.

As a supervising driver you must have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of less than 0.05 and must not consume alcohol whilst supervising a learner driver.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in Victoria for more than six months, you must change your licence or learner permit over to a Victorian licence or learner permit. You can find out more at: Driving with an interstate licence or permit.

Victorian P1 Driver driving in NSW

Carrying your licence

You must carry your P1 driver licence card when driving.

Displaying P plates

You must display your Victorian ‘P’ plates while driving.

Victorian licence holders could also use an ‘P’ Plate issued or authorised by Transport from NSW in the same way on the vehicle.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a ‘S’ condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an ‘A’ condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Probationary Prohibited Vehicles

A probationary prohibited vehicle is a vehicle that:

• has power to tare mass ratios of greater than 130kW per tonne; or
• That has a modified engine that need to be approved by an engineer; or
• Other vehicles classified as high performance by NSW.

For more information please visit: Prohibited vehicles for P plate drivers.

Or Transport NSW webpage - vehicle restrictions

Peer Passengers

Victorian Peer Passenger restrictions apply to you while driving in NSW. You must only have one passenger between the ages of 16 and 21 unless the passengers are your spouse/domestic partner or sibling/step sibling. You must always abide by this restriction.

Mobile Phone Use

You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

For more information please visit the Mobile phones page on the Transport for NSW website.

Speed

You must drive within the posted speed limit and at a speed that’s safe for the conditions of the road environment. NSW P1 licence holders have licence restrictions limiting the speed they can drive at. This does not apply to Victorian Probationary licence holders driving in NSW.

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

You cannot tow another vehicle or trailer unless:

• it is in the course of your employment and requested by your employer; or
• only for agriculture, horticulture, dairy, pastoral, commercial fishing or similar; or
• there is a fully licenced driver sitting beside you; or
• you are driving a tractor.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in New South Wales for more than three months, you must change your learner permit or driver licence over to a New South Wales learner permit or driver licence. You can find out more at: Moving your interstate licence to NSW.

NSW P1 Driver driving in Victoria

Carrying your Licence

You must carry your P1 driver licence card when driving.

Displaying P plates

You must display your NSW ‘P’ plates while driving.
When driving, the ‘P’ plate must be displayed facing out from the front and rear of the motor vehicle so that the letter ‘P’ is clearly visible from a distance of 20 meters behind the vehicle.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a ‘S’ condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an ‘A’ condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Probationary Prohibited Vehicles

A probationary prohibited vehicle is a vehicle that:

• has power to tare mass ratios of greater than 130kW per tonne; or
• That has a modified engine that need to be approved by an engineer; or
• Other vehicles classified as probationary prohibited vehicle by Department of Transport and Planning.

For more information please visit: Prohibited vehicles for P plate drivers.

Peer Passengers

Your peer passenger restrictions will depend on your age.

I have held my P1 Licence for less than 12 months, and I am under 21 years of age:

You must only have one passenger between the ages of 16 and 21 at all times when driving in Victoria. The only exception to this is if the passengers are your spouse/domestic partner or siblings/step siblings.

I have held my P1 licence for over 12 months and am over 21 years of age.

NSW peer passenger restrictions apply. You must not drive with more than one passenger who is less than 21 years of age between the hours of 11pm and 5am. You must abide by these restrictions at all times.

I am a P1 driver over the age of 25 years of age

No peer passenger restrictions apply.

Mobile Phone Use

You must comply with the condition on your licence. You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

Speed

You must not drive faster than 90km/h and at a speed that is safe for the conditions of the road environment that you are in. This NSW licence restriction applies while driving in Victoria.

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

NSW licence conditions apply. P1 licence holders must not tow any other motor vehicle with an unladen mass of 250kg or more when driving in Victoria.

Tractor use

NSW Probationary drivers can drive a tractor in Victoria but only if their NSW Probationary licence would authorise them to drive a tractor in NSW.

You are not required to display P plates.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in Victoria for more than six months, you must change your licence or learner permit over to a Victorian licence or learner permit. You can find out more at: Driving with an interstate licence or permit.

Victorian P2 Driver driving in NSW

Carrying your Licence

You must carry your P2 driver licence card when driving.

Displaying P plates

You must display your Victorian ‘P’ plates while driving.

When driving, you must display your Victorian ‘P’ Plates on the exterior of the vehicle in a conspicuous position at the front and rear of the vehicle, or on the roof of the vehicle. The whole ‘P’ plate needs to be clearly visible.

Victorian licence holders could also use an ‘P’ Plate issued or authorised by Transport from NSW in the same way on the vehicle.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a ‘S’ condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an ‘A’ condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Peer Passengers

No peer passenger restrictions apply for P2 licence holders.

Probationary Prohibited Vehicles

A probationary prohibited vehicle is a vehicle that:

• has power to tare mass ratios of greater than 130kW per tonne; or
• That has a modified engine that need to be approved by an engineer; or
• Other vehicles classified as high performance by NSW.

For more information please visit the Prohibited vehicles for P plate drivers page or the Transport NSW vehicle restrictions page.

Mobile Phone Use

You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

For more information please visit Mobile phones page on the Transport for NSW website.

Speed

You must drive within the posted speed limit and at a speed that’s safe for the conditions of the road environment. NSW P2 licence holders have licence restrictions limiting the speed they can drive at. This does not apply to Victorian Probationary licence holders driving in NSW.

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

There are no towing restrictions for Victorian P2 licence holders who are driving in NSW.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in New South Wales for more than three months, you must change your learner permit or driver licence over to a New South Wales learner permit or driver licence. You can find out more at: Moving your interstate licence to NSW.

NSW P2 Driver driving in Victoria

Carrying your Licence

You must carry your P2 driver licence card when driving.

Displaying P plates

You must display your NSW ‘P’ plates while driving.

When driving, the ‘P’ plate must be displayed facing out from the front and rear of the motor vehicle so that the letter ‘P’ is clearly visible from a distance of 20 meters behind the vehicle.

Licence conditions

You must comply with all conditions of your licence. Some examples include wearing corrective lenses if you have a ‘S’ condition, only driving vehicles with an automatic transmission if you have an ‘A’ condition, complying with any other conditions imposed after a ban/disqualification period etc.

Peer Passengers

No peer passenger restrictions apply for P2 licence holders.

Probationary Prohibited Vehicles

You must not drive a probationary prohibited vehicle in Victoria.

A probationary prohibited vehicle is a vehicle that:

• has power to tare mass ratios of greater than 130kW per tonne; or
• That has a modified engine that need to be approved by an engineer; or
• Other vehicles classified as probationary prohibited vehicle by Department of Transport and Planning.

For more information please visit: Prohibited vehicles for P plate drivers page.

Mobile Phone Use

You must comply with the condition on your licence. You must not use any function of a mobile phone while driving. This includes phones in the hands-free mode, with the loudspeaker on, using GPS navigation or sending text messages.

Speed

You must not drive faster than 100km/h and at a speed that is safe for the conditions of the road environment that you are in. This NSW licence restriction applies while driving in Victoria.

Alcohol

You must have a zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at all times when driving.

Towing

NSW Probationary drivers can tow in Victoria but only if their NSW Probationary licence would authorise them to tow in NSW.

Tractor use

NSW Probationary drivers can drive a tractor in Victoria but only if their NSW Probationary licence would authorise them to drive a tractor in NSW.

You are not required to display P plates.

Staying for a while?

If you are residing in Victoria for more than six months, you must change your licence or learner permit over to a Victorian licence or learner permit. You can find out more at: Driving with an interstate licence or permit.