Queensland rules reviewed
Queensland mobile phone rules depend on your licence and age. Holding a phone or resting it on your lap while driving is prohibited, including in stopped traffic. Keeping a phone in a pocket or worn pouch is allowed, but stricter limits on its use apply to learner and P1 drivers under 25.
Knowing the rule is one part of the task. Preparing your car, managing passengers and putting the phone away help you give driving your attention. These are useful habits to practise from your first lessons through to independent driving.
Which Queensland mobile phone rules apply to you?
The phone does not have to be on or in use for holding it, or resting it on your lap, to be an offence. A red light or a traffic queue does not create a general opportunity to check messages.
Everyday car licence categories in Queensland
| Your licence |
What to know while driving |
| Learner or P1, under 25 |
Except for the specific safely-stopped purposes below, do not use a mobile phone, including maps, Bluetooth, hands-free calls or voice commands. Keeping it in a pocket does not permit you to operate it. |
| Learner or P1, aged 25 or over |
The general phone rules apply. Hands-free use may be allowed, but you must keep proper control and comply with any individual licence conditions. |
| P2 or open licence |
Limited hands-free use is allowed. A mounted phone must not block your view. If it is in a pocket or worn pouch, do not touch or look at it; use voice operation only. |
A P1 probationary licence following a young driver disqualification can carry stricter restrictions regardless of current age. Check the provisional licence restrictions and your own conditions if this applies to you.
Passengers and supervising drivers
When the learner or P1 driver is under 25, passengers must not use a phone on loudspeaker while the car is moving or stopped in traffic. This includes a learner's supervisor. Agree before leaving that passengers will keep calls and other distractions away from the driver's attention. Queensland's learner driving rules explain the supervisor and passenger restrictions.
Safely stopped and safely parked are different
There are specific allowances when safely stopped: paying at a drive-through, using access controls for a car park, showing a digital licence or another required document, or retrieving a card or money from a phone wallet for those purposes. They do not allow general browsing while waiting in traffic.
For a message, a call or a route change that requires handling your phone, first find a lawful place to park safely. Parked means stopped with the intention of staying there. Read the Queensland Government's mobile phone guidance for the full rules and current penalties.
Hands-free does not mean distraction-free
Put the phone away before you begin driving.
A distraction can take your eyes off the road, your hands away from the controls or your mind away from driving. A conversation can occupy your attention even when both hands remain on the wheel. Legal permission to use a hands-free function still requires you to drive with care.
The same attention check helps with music, food and passenger conversations. If you are searching for a song, looking for something in a bag or following an involved discussion, ask what you are missing outside the car. Change what you can while safely parked so the activity does not interfere with your driving.
Set up a quieter drive
- Silence notifications and put your phone out of reach before moving off.
- Plan your route while parked. Choose a navigation arrangement that your licence allows; setting up a prohibited phone function early does not make it legal to use while driving.
- Adjust the seat, mirrors, temperature and permitted audio controls before leaving.
- Tell passengers when you need quiet, especially while approaching an unfamiliar intersection or reading signs.
- If something needs your attention, find a suitable place to park instead of trying to manage both tasks at once.
StreetSmarts has more information about driver distraction. For the broader safety picture, our Fatal 5 guide covers the other major behaviours to discuss with your supervisor.
If managing several tasks feels difficult, bring a specific example to your instructor. You can build attentive driving habits with Coastwide by practising observation, preparation and decision-making at a pace that suits your experience.