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| Western Australia |
| Tasmania |
| Northern Territory |
| South Australia |
| Victoria |
| Australian Capital Territory |
| New South Wales |
| Queensland |
The Road Traffic Act 1974 provides, by s42(4), that regulations may require the holder of a driver's licence to submit, as required by the regulations, to a medical practitioner approved by the Director-General for examination as to the person's mental or physical fitness to drive.
Regulation 4 of the Road Traffic (Drivers' Licences) Regulations 1975 provides that the holder of a driver's licence must submit to a medical examination:
at intervals of 5 years until attaining the age of 45 years;
at intervals of 2 years after attaining the age of 45 years until attaining the age of 65 years; and
annually after attaining the age of 65 years.
It is the policy of the Department of Main Roads Western Australia, to assess fitness to drive according to a AustRoads document mentioned above.
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The Traffic Act 1925 provides, by s31A(1)(b), that the Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for explaining, administering, enforcing or otherwise giving effect to or complementing rules on road traffic matters that are uniform or essentially uniform, in content and style, with the road traffic legislation of other Australian jurisdictions.
Section 31A(1) also provides that, the Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters and things which may be necessary or desirable for regulating and controlling the driving, using and having in possession of any vehicle or class of vehicle in any public street or any specified part thereof.
Those regulations appear in the Traffic (Miscellaneous) Statutory Rules 1968.
Rules 39(1)(b) and (2)(b) provide that before issuing or renewing a driver's licence, the Registrar shall be satisfied that the applicant for the licence or renewal is of sound physique. For the purposes of this regulation, the Registrar may require an applicant for a driver's licence to submit to such examination or test, medical or otherwise, as the Registrar may think fit.
An officer of the Transport Division of the Infrastructure, Energy and Resources Department of Tasmania referred in this regard to the Austroads document mentioned above.
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The Motor Vehicles Act 1949 provides, by s11, that if it appears to the Registrar that a person applying for a licence or the renewal of a licence is physically or mentally incapable of driving a motor vehicle with safety to the public or is physically or mentally unfit to be licensed, the Registrar may require the person to be medically examined by a medical testing officer.
Section 11A of the same Act, further provides that, where the applicant for a licence or for the renewal of a licence is a person suffering from any bodily defect or incapacity, the Registrar may issue the licence to the applicant, notwithstanding that the applicant is underaged, on such condition as the Registrar thinks fit, including, where appropriate, a condition that the licence shall relate only to a specified kind of motor vehicle, or to a motor vehicle specially constructed or adapted for the use of the applicant. Where the Registrar issues a licence under this section, he may by endorsement on the licence, exempt, conditionally or otherwise, the person so licensed or a motor vehicle or a kind or class or motor vehicle, while it is being driven by the applicant under and in accordance with the licence, or both, from compliance with the whole or specified provisions of this Act or the Traffic Act or both.
With regards to "fitness to be licensed", an officer of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, Northern Territory referred to the Austroads document mentioned above.
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The Motor Vehicles Act 1959 provides, by s80(1), that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles may require the holder of a driver's licence to undergo such tests as the Registrar directs to test the fitness or ability of the applicant to hold a driver's licence.
Section 80(1)(a) also allows that the Registrar may with the approval of the Minister direct licence holders who are of a particular class to undergo such tests as to ability or fitness to drive a motor vehicles as the Registrar requires.
Section 80(2) provides that medical tests provided by the Registrar must be conducted in accordance with guidelines published/adopted by the Minister by notice in the Gazette. Information from the Office of Transport South Australia is that these guidelines are taken from the Austroads document mentioned above. (namely binocular visual acuity of not less than 6/12).
Section 80(2)(a) provides that if a person fails to comply with the Registrar's requirements or if the Registrar is satisfied that the person is not competent to drive a motor vehicle, the Registrar may refuse to issue/renew the person's driver's licence.
Under s148(1) if a medical practitioner has reasonable cause to believe that a person they have examined, holds a driver's licence and is suffering from a physical illness or disability that if they were to drive would likely endanger the public, the medical practitioner is under a duty to inform the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in writing of the details of that person and the nature of their disability. Under s148(2) the medical practitioner must also notify the person concerned.
Information from Transport SA website regarding certificate of fitness to drive is that if a person has a condition of 'poor eyesight' and their eyesight readings do not meet the minimum standard unaided, but are satisfactory while wearing visual aids, their licence may be endorsed so that spectacles or contact lenses must be worn at all times when driving.
It is a further requirement in South Australia that licence holders undertake yearly vision tests from the age of 70 years old and furnish a medical certificate from a doctor attesting successful completion of an eye test.
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The Road Safety Act 1986 provides, by s19, that the Victorian Roads Corporation may grant a driver's licence if satisfied an applicant is qualified to hold such a licence (s19(1)). The Roads Corporation may, before granting/renewing a licence, require the applicant to pass any appropriate tests and to comply with any prescribed procedures and requirements (s19(2)).
Under s27, the Roads Corporation may require the applicant/holder of a driver's licence to undergo a test(s) to find out if that person is unfit to drive or if it is dangerous for that person to drive. Under s27(2), a person may be required to undergo a 'test of health or competence' to be carried out by a person specified by the Roads Corporation. In Victoria there is no requirement for medical practitioners to inform the authorities of a person's unfitness to drive a vehicle or hold a driver's licence, however, s27(5) states that no action may be taken against a person who carries out such health tests and who expresses to the Roads Corporation an opinion about that person (s27(4)), however the VicRoads website states that practitioners are to be 'guided by national medical standards'.
The VicRoads website states that the Victorian Roads Corporation conforms to the national standards used to determine medical fitness to drive. It states that the medical and visual standards for driving are those published in the Austroads document mentioned above. However, s 202 of the Road Safety (Procedures) Regulations 1988 provides for specific eye tests. Section 202(1) states that for the purpose of the Act 'eye tests' administered in relation to a driver's licence comprises a visual acuity test and/or a colour perception test.
Section 202(2) states that a person passes a visual acuity test if under appropriate testing conditions the person:
| (a) | correctly reads with one eye the line on
a printed metric testing chart designated 6/12 (imperial chart 20/40);
and |
| (b) | correctly reads with the other eye the line on a printed metric testing chart designated 6/60 (imperial chart 20/200). |
The Victorian standard therefore seems to be different to that proposed under Item 30(a) of the Medical Standards for Vision and Eye Disorders in the Austroads document mentioned above, which requires binocular visual acuity of not less than 6/12 measured with both eyes open (while wearing any corrective lenses).
Section 229 of the Road Safety (Procedures) Regulations states that eyesight tests are to be conducted by optometrists and ophthalmologists.
There is no vision testing conducted upon renewal of a license or upon attainment of a certain age in Victoria. Eyesight tests are only conducted in Victoria when initially obtaining a drivers license or if an eye sight problem is declared/reported.
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The Motor Traffic Act 1936 provides, by s8(11), that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles shall not grant or renew a driver's licence unless satisfied that the applicant is capable of driving, with safety to the public, a motor vehicle of a class specified in the licence.
Section 10 of the Motor Traffic Act provides that the Registrar may require a person to submit for an examination, by a medical testing officer, to ascertain their medical fitness to driv
