Can you get a restricted licence after drug driving in Tasmania?
If you have been charged with drug driving in Tasmania, you may be wondering whether you can apply for a restricted licence to keep driving while disqualified. The short answer is: drug driving has different eligibility rules than drink driving, and those differences work in your favour in some important ways.
Drug driving is charged under section 6A of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 (Tas). Restricted licence eligibility for offences under the RSA Act is governed by section 19(1A), which sets out a list of bars. Several of those bars contain a specific carve-out for section 6A offences. This means that some people who would be ineligible after drink driving may still be eligible after drug driving.
This page explains the key differences, the criteria that still apply, and some of the practical considerations for drug driving restricted licence applications.
How drug driving eligibility differs from drink driving
The eligibility bars in section 19(1A) of the RSA Act were primarily designed with drink driving in mind. When drug driving was later added as a separate offence under section 6A, the legislature carved out exceptions so that some of the stricter bars would not apply to drug driving.
Two of the most significant bars contain the words "except in the case of an offence against section 6A":
- Section 19(1A)(e) — the learner and provisional licence bar. This prevents learner and provisional licence holders from applying for a restricted licence after a drink driving offence. But it does not apply to drug driving.
- Section 19(1A)(ea) — the authorisation bar. This prevents people who were not authorised to drive the vehicle (e.g. expired licence, wrong class) from applying. But again, it does not apply to drug driving.
These two exceptions are the main reason drug driving applications have a broader eligibility pool than drink driving. Everything else in section 19(1A) applies equally to both offence types.
Provisional licence holders and learner drivers
This is where the drug driving exception matters most.
Provisional licence holders (P-platers) are eligible to apply for a restricted licence after drug driving. The bar in section 19(1A)(e) — which excludes provisional licence holders — explicitly does not apply to offences against section 6A. If you held a provisional licence when you were charged with drug driving, this particular bar does not exclude you. You still need to meet the other criteria (no prior disqualifications within 3 years, not driving a prescribed vehicle, and so on), and you still need to prove severe and unusual hardship at court. But the provisional licence bar is lifted.
This is a significant difference from drink driving, where being on your Ps is an automatic disqualifier.
Learner licence holders are generally excluded. While the section 19(1A)(e) exception lifts the RSA Act bar for learner drivers charged with drug driving, there is a separate and independent barrier: section 18(1) of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 (Tas) only permits applications from a person whose "Australian driver licence (other than a learner licence)" has been suspended or cancelled. Because this general exclusion applies regardless of the offence type, a person who still holds a learner licence cannot apply.
There is one potential opening. Section 18(1) refers to the licence you hold at the time of the application, not at the time of the offence. If you were on your learner licence when the drug driving offence occurred but have since progressed to a provisional or full licence, the s.18(1) exclusion may no longer apply — and because the RSA Act bar was already lifted by the drug driving exception, you could be in a position to apply.
If you are a learner driver charged with drug driving, legal advice is strongly recommended. For more detail on how licence type affects eligibility, see our page on provisional and learner licence holders.
Prior disqualifications — the same 3-year rule applies
Section 19(1A)(a) of the RSA Act does not contain a drug driving exception. It applies equally to all RSA Act offences, including section 6A.
Under this provision, you are ineligible for a restricted licence if:
- You committed the drug driving offence during any period of disqualification, or
- You committed the offence within 3 years after the end of any prior disqualification imposed under the RSA Act.
This is the same rule that applies to drink driving. If you have a clean driving record with no prior RSA disqualifications, this bar will not affect you.
Prescribed vehicle exclusion
Section 19(1A)(f) also applies equally to drug driving. If you were driving a "prescribed vehicle" at the time of the offence, you are ineligible for a restricted licence. A prescribed vehicle is defined as:
- A vehicle being used to operate a passenger transport service (taxi, rideshare, bus)
- A vehicle designed for 13 or more adult passengers
- A vehicle (not designed for passengers) with a gross vehicle mass exceeding 4.5 tonnes
- A vehicle transporting dangerous goods
If you were driving a standard passenger car or light vehicle, this exclusion does not apply to you.
The authorisation requirement does not apply to drug driving
Section 19(1A)(ea) bars a person from applying for a restricted licence if, at the time of the offence, they were not authorised under an Australian driver licence to drive the vehicle in question. This catches situations like driving on an expired licence, driving a vehicle outside your licence class, or driving while your licence was suspended for administrative reasons.
However, this provision contains the same carve-out: "except in the case of an offence against section 6A". This means the authorisation bar does not apply to drug driving.
If you were charged with drug driving while your licence happened to be expired or you were driving a vehicle you were not licensed to drive, section 19(1A)(ea) will not exclude you from applying. That said, the circumstances may still be relevant to the public interest assessment under section 18(5)(c) of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 — the Court will consider the full picture when deciding whether to grant the restricted licence.