Transport

Last updated 9 July 2024

The Queensland Government and many businesses that operate transport services have polices about children using certain types of transport. There are also separate laws for children and young adults regulating obtaining their driver licence.

Public transport

In Queensland, children are able to travel on designated school bus services without a parent or guardian accompanying them. Children generally should be accompanied by an adult while travelling on buses in Queensland that are not designated school bus services.

Children aged 12 years of age or younger are unable to travel on Queensland trains unless they are accompanied by someone who is 16 years of age or older. Children who are over 12 years of age but younger than 16 will be allowed to travel on Queensland trains as an unaccompanied child.

Children are generally able to ride in taxis alone. In Queensland, children less than one year old must be held on the lap of someone aged over 16. Children older than one but less than seven years old must sit in the back seat of a taxi and be restrained with a seatbelt. It is not mandatory for children to be restrained in car seats in taxis.

Ride share services such as Uber do not allow unaccompanied children to use their services. Uber has recently announced that children between 13 and 17 years of age will be allowed to create a teen Uber account and can use Ubers without being accompanied by an adult.

Airlines

Different airlines can have different rules for unaccompanied children so it is best to check with the specific airline about their requirements.

Generally, children under five years of age cannot fly by themselves and must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or immediate family member. Children who are between five years old and 11 years old are allowed to travel by themselves.

Children over 12 years of age will need to buy an adult airline ticket. However, parents of children aged between 12 and 15 can still flag with the airline that their child will be flying unaccompanied.

Airlines require a special booking for unaccompanied minors and there may be an extra fee and documentation involved. Unaccompanied children will be supervised by a staff member at all times until the child can be picked up by a parent or guardian at their destination.

Driver licences

In Queensland, people and children under 25 years of age are considered young drivers and must comply with special rules for their driver licence. These rules and laws can be found in the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld) and the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Regulation 1995 (Qld). Additionally, drivers who have medical conditions or other requirements may have conditions placed on their licence that they are required to comply with.

For further information, see the Traffic Offences chapter of this handbook.

Learner licence

After a child has turned 16 years of age, they are eligible to apply for a learner licence. Children with a learner licence are able to drive a car under the supervision of an adult who has had their open licence for at least one year and must display yellow L plates on the car at all times. Learner licence holders must hold their learner licence for at least one year and must complete at least 100 practice hours of driving (unless they are granted an exemption). Drivers in rural or remote areas, who do not have a car available for them to drive or have no one to supervise their driving may be granted an exemption to the 100-hour requirement by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Learner drivers have a number of restrictions on their licence including the number of passengers they are able to carry, what hours they are able to drive at night and what power vehicle they are able to drive. Learner licence holders must always have a 0.00% blood alcohol concentration while driving and cannot use their mobile phone (including via hands-free devices).

If a learner driver accumulates more than four demerit points within any one-year period, their licence will be suspended for three months.

People with a learner licence must pass a practical driving test, a traffic law knowledge test and potentially further medical tests before they can progress to the next stage of the licence system.

Provisional P1 licence

After successfully completing the practical driving test, children and young drivers are able to progress to a provisional P1 licence. P1 licence holders must hold their P1 licence for at least 12 months and must display red P plates on their car at all times. People with a P1 licence cannot supervise a learner driver.

P1 licence holders must have a 0.00% blood alcohol concentration while driving, cannot use their mobile phone (including via hands-free devices) and must also comply with rules regarding late-night driving, restrictions on the number of passengers and vehicle power restrictions.

If a P1 licence holder accumulates four or more demerit points within any one-year period they must choose between having their licence suspended or being placed on a good-driving-behaviour period. If a P1 licence holder accumulates two or more further demerit points during a good-driving-behaviour period, their licence will be suspended for six months.

People with a P1 licence must pass a hazard perception test before they can progress to the next stage of the licence system.

Provisional P2 licence

The P2 licence is the final provisional licence stage before a person can progress to an open licence. People who are over 25 years of age when they pass the hazard perception test are not required to hold a P2 licence and can progress straight to an open licence. There are different lengths of time someone under 25 years of age must hold a P2 licence according to their age and at what age they received their P1 licence.

Age when issued  P1 licence	Time held P1 licence	Age when issued P2 licence	Minimum P2    licence length
under 23 years	1 year	under 25 years	2 years
23 years	1 year	24 years and over	1 year
24 years	1 year	can be issued open licence – not required to hold          P2 licence	_
_	_	25 years and over	1 year