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Traffic rules in Australia

No consistent traffic rules all over Australia

The Australian Constitution does not provide for a legislative power of the Federal Parliament to impose the same road rules in all states of Australia. In this respect, road traffic laws are the responsibility of national and regional parliaments, with the consequence that Australia does not have consistent national traffic rules.

The differences between states and territories have historically led to Australians being confronted with inconsistent rules, resulting in unnecessary inefficiencies and avoidable costs.

It was only in January 1999 that the Australian Transport Council by a majority vote approved the adoption of a common regulatory framework presented by the National Transport Commission. The Council consists of the ministers responsible for road traffic matters in each state and territory, and of the Commonwealth Minister responsible for transport matters. The Road Rules framework is revised every two years.

The current “Australian Road Rules” (as of 19/03/2018) comprise 339 pages. However, these rules are only a guideline.

The actual laws are those legislated by each state and territory. However, most states and territories have adopted the rules as legislation, with minor variations.

Nevertheless, not every rule of the Australian Road Rules was fully adopted in every state and territory. In addition, there are a number of provisions in the Rules that specifically leave certain matters to state and territory governments to determine.

I have selected some traffic rules and their respective validity in the states and territories (conditions 08 / 2019a), which may be unfamiliar to immigrants and visitors:

Traffic rules that are the same in all states and territories:
  • If you’re visiting from another country, you can drive indefinitely if you have a valid overseas licence (Only up to three months in NT)
  • Drivers with licences in languages other than English must carry a valid and recognized English translation of the same (or an international driving permit).
  • General alcohol limit – you will be over this limit if the blood alcohol content (BAC) in your blood or breath is equal to or more than 0.05g per 100ml (depending upon the type of vehicle(s) you are authorized to drive and the current status of your licence).
  • If you are the driver, you are responsible for ensuring that every passenger – regardless of age – wears a correctly fitted child restraint or seatbelt. Passengers 16 years or older who fail to wear a seatbelt will also be fined (in addition to the driver) and accumulate demerit points.
  • Signalling at roundabouts:
    • Left turn – Signal left on your approach to the roundabout and continue to signal left as you exit the roundabout.
    • Straight ahead or second left exit – You are not required to signal on the approach to the roundabout, but if practical, signal left as you exit the roundabout.
    • Right turn – Signal right on the approach to the roundabout and if practical, signal left as you exit the roundabout.
  • Giving way to the right – When you come to a crossroad intersection without any signs or lines, you must give way to all vehicles on your right if they are approaching, entering or on the intersection.
  • Giving way at a T-intersection – A driver turning from the terminating road at a T-intersection must give way to all vehicles on the continuing road (except those performing a U-turn). A T-intersection consists of two roads where one road continues through the intersection and the other road ends at the intersection.
Graphic: Vehicle 1 must give way to vehicle 2
Vehicle 1 must give way to vehicle 2
  • You may drive with your headlights on high beam in a built-up area, but you must dip them when you are within 200 m of another vehicle, or to prevent dazzling other road users.
  • You must not stop or park less than 20 metres before and 10 metres after a bus stop, unless there is an official sign saying you can.
  • A person must not travel with any part of the person’s body outside a window or door of the vehicle, unless the person is the driver of the vehicle and is giving a hand signal.
  • You must not stop your vehicle (that is, bring it to a stop and either stay with the vehicle or leave it parked) within 3 metres of an Australia Post letter box unless dropping off or picking up passengers or mail.
  • STOP lines and GIVE WAY lines on the road have the same meaning as STOP signs and GIVE WAY signs.
Graphic: STOP-line
STOP-Line
Graphic: GIVE WAY-Line
GIVE WAY-Line
  • Giving way when merging
    • When lines of traffic merge, you must give way to any vehicle that is ahead of you.
    • If your lane comes to an end, you must give way to traffic already in the lane you are moving to.
Graphic example 1: vehicle B gives way to vehicle A
Example 1: vehicle B gives way to vehicle A
Graphic example 2: vehicle A gives way to vehicle B
Example 2: vehicle A gives way to vehicle B
  • You must signal for at least five seconds when moving off from a parked position.
  • Don’t stop or park at a yellow line along the side of a road.
  • You are allowed to cross a single continuous dividing line to enter or leave a road or property.
  • You can overtake a vehicle on the left if you are driving on a multi-lane road and the vehicle can be safely overtaken in a marked lane to the left of the vehicle. This rule also applies on motorways! So don’t wonder if cars pass you on the left all the time on a motorway.
  • A shared zone is an area where pedestrians have total priority over all other traffic.
Shared-Zone sign
  • You must not park closer than 1m to any other vehicle in front of or behind your vehicle.
  • Unless there is an official sign saying you can, you must not park or stop
    – less than 10 m from an intersection     without traffic lights,
    – less than 20 m from an intersection with traffic lights
  • If your vehicle is 7.5 m or more in length, you must not park it in a built-up area for more than one hour unless otherwise signed.
  • Bicycle riders are allowed to ride two abreast, (side by side) as long as they are not more than 1.5 m apart.
Traffic rules which differ – a comparison
Regel ACT NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA
When leaving a parking area in the centre of the road, you must leave the parking area by driving forward only unless signs indicate otherwise. X – – X – X X –
You must slow down to 40 (or 251) km/h or a lower speed if required when passing a stationary emergency vehicle X X – – X1 – X X
If the driver will be over 3 metres from the closest part of the vehicle and there is no-one left in the vehicle, the driver must:
a) secure the windows immediately before leaving the vehicle, and
b) lock the doors immediately after leaving the vehicle.
A window is considered “secure” if it is open by up to
1) 2 cm
2) 5 cm		 – X1 – X2 – X1 X2 –
A driver must take due care, by slowing down or stopping the driver’s vehicle if necessary, not to splash mud on:
a) any person in or on a bus, or
b) any person entering or leaving any stationary bus, or
c) any person waiting at any bus stop
However, all other pedestrians are fair game… 		– X – – – – – –
Giving way to restive horses – When a person in charge of a horse that appears to be hard to control gives a signal – by raising a hand and pointing to the horse – you must give way. You should drive to the side of the road, stop your vehicle and turn off the engine. Keep the engine off and the car stopped until there is no reasonable chance that the noise of the engine or movement of your vehicle will further upset the horse. – – – X – – – –
You must not exceed 251 (402) km/h when passing, in either direction, a school bus that has stopped for the purpose of setting down or picking up children – – – – X1 X2 – –
You must not exceed 25 km/h when a child (a person less than 18 years of age, and includes a student of any age wearing a school uniform) is within a school zone. This applies whenever a child is on the road, footpath, median strip, or even on a bicycle including outside of school hours.
1not general rule but possible, when indicated by special school zone sign : Graphic: When children present 		–1 – – –1 X –1 – –
The default speed limit on a road in a built-up area is 50 km/h, unless a speed limit sign on the road shows a different speed limit.
1) 60 in Northern territory 		X X –1 X X X X X
The default speed limit on a road outside a built-up area is 100 km/h unless otherwise signed.
1) 110 km/h
2) and 80 km/h in country areas on an unsealed road in Tasmania		 X X –1 X X X2 X –1
Giving way to buses
You must give way to a bus ahead of you with this sign on its right-hand rear side, when you are in a built-up area, if the bus is signalling to enter traffic from:
– a bus stop bay
– the shoulder of the road
– the bus zone or bus stop.
1) Only in speed zones of 70 km/h and under Graphic: Give way to bus 		X X X1 X1 X X X X
You are allowed to cross a single continuous dividing line to safely pass a bicycle rider (but only if the driver has a clear view of any approaching traffic and it is safe to do so) X X X X X X – X
Bicycle lanes – For cyclists only. If you need to turn left from the road, you may drive along the bicycle lane for up to 50 metres only if it is necessary to do so. You must give way to cyclists in a bicycle lane. A driver must not stop in a bicycle lane
When a bicycle lane is marked on the road, cyclists must use it.
1) Parking is allowed unless prohibited by signs.
2) Bicycle riders can legally ride on the road and are not required to use a bicycle lane		 X X X X1,2 X X X1 X
As a bicycle rider, you are legally required to wear an Australian Standard AS2063 or AS/NZS2063 bicycle helmet
1 only under the age of 17		 X X –1 X X X X X
You may generally ride bicycles on footpaths unless otherwise signed X – X X X X – X
Leave a safe distance between your vehicle and a bicycle rider when passing or overtaking – you must leave at least 1 metre in a 60km/h or less speed zone and 1.5 metres if the speed zone is over 60km/h
1) 2 metres if travelling faster than 70 km/h.
Graphic: safe distance between vehicle and bicycle rider when passing or overtaking 		X X X1 X X X – X

The information above is based on a comparison of the various manuals of states and territories traffic rules. Even if the comparison is made with reasonable care, no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. If there is an error in the table, we welcome any reference.
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