Can you get a restricted licence on your Ps or Ls in Tasmania?
Your licence type matters. The rules for restricted licence eligibility are different depending on whether you held a full, provisional, or learner licence at the time of the offence — and what type of offence led to your disqualification.
Many people assume that being on their Ps or Ls means they cannot apply for a restricted licence at all. That is true for some offences, but not all. The answer depends on the interaction between two pieces of legislation: section 18 of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 (Tas) and section 19 of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 (Tas).
This page explains how licence type affects eligibility for each category of offence, so you can understand where you stand before seeking legal advice.
The general rule for learner licence holders
The starting point is section 18(1) of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999. This is the provision that creates the restricted licence scheme. It says that a person whose "Australian driver licence (other than a learner licence)" has been suspended or cancelled may apply to the Magistrates Court for a restricted licence.
The words "other than a learner licence" are a general exclusion. If you hold a learner licence at the time of your application, section 18(1) does not permit you to apply — regardless of the offence type.
This is the single biggest barrier for learner drivers. It sits in the Vehicle and Traffic Act — not in the RSA Act — and it is not overridden by any of the exceptions in section 19.
However, note the wording: section 18(1) refers to the licence you hold at the time of the application, not at the time of the offence. This distinction matters in one specific scenario — drug driving — discussed below.
Provisional licence holders — it depends on the offence
Provisional licence holders are not caught by the general exclusion in section 18(1). A provisional licence is an "Australian driver licence" — it is not a learner licence. So the VTA does not exclude P-platers from applying.
However, section 19(1A)(e) of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 creates a separate bar for RSA Act offences. It provides that a restricted licence cannot be granted if the offender held a learner licence or provisional licence "at the time of the commission of the offence" — but this bar comes with an important exception: it does not apply "in the case of an offence against section 6A" (drug driving).
The practical effect is that P-platers need to look at their specific offence type to know whether they are eligible.
Drink driving — provisional licence holders excluded
If you held a provisional licence and were convicted of exceeding 0.05 under section 6 of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970, you are excluded from applying for a restricted licence. Section 19(1A)(e) bars provisional licence holders from all RSA Act offences except drug driving under section 6A. Drink driving does not fall within the exception.
This is an absolute bar. It does not matter what your BAC reading was, whether this was your first offence, or how strong your hardship case might be. The court has no discretion to grant a restricted licence to a provisional licence holder convicted of drink driving.
For more detail on drink driving eligibility criteria (including the BAC threshold and prior disqualification rules), see our drink driving page.
Drug driving — provisional licence holders may be eligible
This is where the rules change. If you held a provisional licence and were convicted of drug driving under section 6A of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970, the provisional licence bar in section 19(1A)(e) does not apply to you. The section explicitly carves out offences against section 6A.
This means you are not automatically excluded by reason of your licence type. You can apply for a restricted licence — but you still need to satisfy every other eligibility criterion:
- You must not have committed the offence during or within 3 years after a prior RSA Act disqualification (section 19(1A)(a))
- You must not have been driving a prescribed vehicle such as a taxi, bus, or heavy vehicle (section 19(1A)(f))
- You must demonstrate severe and unusual hardship to the court (section 18(5))
Meeting the eligibility criteria gets you through the door, but the court still needs to be persuaded on hardship and public interest before it will grant the order. For more on the drug driving eligibility rules, see our drug driving page.
Speeding, demerit points, and other non-RSA offences
Section 19(1A) only applies to offences under the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970. It has nothing to say about disqualifications that arise from other causes — such as accumulating too many demerit points, dangerous driving, or other traffic offences dealt with under different legislation.
For these non-RSA offences, the eligibility question is governed solely by section 18 of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999. Since section 18(1) only excludes learner licence holders (not provisional licence holders), P-platers who lost their licence for speeding, demerit points, or other non-RSA reasons are treated the same as full licence holders for restricted licence purposes.
That said, the court will still examine your full driving history when assessing the public interest. Being on your Ps with a record of traffic offences may make the hardship and public interest arguments more difficult, even if you are not technically excluded by the statute.
Learner licence holders and drug driving
As explained above, if you still hold a learner licence, section 18(1) of the VTA prevents you from applying for a restricted licence. This is a complete bar — it applies regardless of the offence type, and the court has no discretion to override it.
However, there is one scenario where the position may change: if you were on your learner licence at the time of a drug driving offence but have since progressed to a provisional or full licence.
Here is why this matters:
- The RSA Act bar in section 19(1A)(e) does not apply to drug driving offences under section 6A — so being a learner at the time of the offence does not exclude you under the RSA Act.
- The VTA bar in section 18(1) refers to the licence you hold at the time of the application, not at the time of the offence. If you have since progressed to a provisional or full licence, you are no longer caught by the "other than a learner licence" exclusion.
In this specific scenario — learner at the time of a drug driving offence, but provisional or full licence holder at the time of the application — neither the RSA Act nor the VTA exclusion applies. You would still need to meet the other eligibility criteria and prove severe and unusual hardship, but the statutory bars would not prevent you from applying.
If you still hold a learner licence, the position is clear: you cannot apply. If you have since progressed, it may be worth discussing your options with a lawyer.
Summary: eligibility by offence type and licence type
The following table summarises the position for each combination of offence type and licence type. "May be eligible" means the licence type does not automatically exclude you — you still need to meet all other criteria and prove hardship.
| Offence | Full licence | Provisional | Learner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drink driving (s.6) | May be eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible |
| Drug driving (s.6A) | May be eligible | May be eligible | Not eligible (but may be if since progressed to Ps/full) |
| DUI (s.4) | Not eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible |
| Demerit points | May be eligible | May be eligible | Not eligible |
| Speeding / other | May be eligible | May be eligible | Not eligible |
| Refused test | Not eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible |
This table reflects the licence-type bars only. Other eligibility criteria (BAC threshold, prior disqualifications, prescribed vehicle) apply independently and may still exclude you even where the table shows "May be eligible".
When does your licence type matter — at the time of the offence, or the application?
Two different provisions are in play, and they look at different points in time:
- Section 19(1A)(e) of the RSA Act looks at the licence you held "at the time of the commission of the offence." If you were on your Ps when you committed a drink driving offence, the provisional licence bar applies — even if you have since progressed to a full licence.
- Section 18(1) of the VTA refers to "a person whose Australian driver licence (other than a learner licence) is, or is liable to be, suspended or cancelled." The present tense "is" refers to the licence you hold at the time of the application. This is why a learner who has since progressed to a provisional or full licence may no longer be caught by this exclusion.
For most situations, the licence you held at the time of the offence is what matters. The one exception is the learner drug driving scenario discussed above, where progression to a higher licence class may remove the s.18(1) bar.