If you're under 25, you need to record at least 100 hours of supervised driving in your Queensland learner logbook before your practical test, and at least 10 of those hours must be at night. Hours with an accredited driver trainer count triple, up to 10 actual hours, which can take 20 hours off the total.
Here's how the logbook works and how to plan your hours so you're ready, not just finished.
Who needs a learner logbook?
- Under 25: you must complete 100 hours of supervised driving on Australian roads, including 10 night hours, before you can take the practical test.
- 25 or older: you don't have to complete a logbook, but the Queensland Government recommends you do. It's a good way to see how much practice you're really getting.
What counts as night driving?
Night hours are any driving between sunset and sunrise. In winter that can mean an after-work drive at 6 pm, which is handy if you're fitting practice around a job or school.
How driver trainer lessons count
Time with an accredited driver trainer, such as a professional driving instructor, counts as triple time. A 1-hour lesson is logged as 3 hours. This applies to up to 10 actual hours, so professional lessons can count for up to 30 logbook hours.
One catch with night lessons: a trip with a driver trainer at night counts as either triple time or night hours, not both. A lesson from 7 to 8 pm can be logged as 3 daytime hours or as 1 night hour. Most learners do their night hours with their usual supervisor and use triple time for daytime lessons.
Triple time is a bonus, but the bigger benefit is what you learn. An instructor can teach and correct the skills that are hard to pick up from a family member, and give you things to practise on your next drive.
App or paper?
You can use the Queensland Government's learner logbook app, a paper logbook or a mix of both. For each trip you record things like the date, start and finish times, whether it was day or night, and whether your supervisor was an accredited driver trainer. Fill it in at the end of every drive, while the details are fresh.
Submit it early
Submit your logbook at least 12 business days before your driving test. If your logbook requirements aren't met on the day, the test won't go ahead and your fee won't be refunded, so leave yourself plenty of time.
How to make your 100 hours count
Getting to 100 hours is the requirement. Being a safe, confident driver is the goal. A few ways to make the hours useful:
- Mix up the roads: quiet streets first, then busy suburban roads, multi-lane roads, roundabouts and highways.
- Drive in different conditions: rain, dusk, night and heavy traffic, once you're ready.
- Practise the hard parts on purpose: reverse parking, right turns across traffic and merging, rather than avoiding them.
- Plan short, regular drives instead of the occasional long one. Little and often builds habits.
- Book professional lessons at the right times: early on to build good habits, in the middle to fix anything that's not working, and near the end to get test ready.
Lessons that fit your logbook
Easy L is a women-only driving school with female instructors who have more than 20 years' experience in automatic cars. We come to you across southside Brisbane and Logan, weekdays and weekends. Our Test Ready pack of 5 lessons is $400 and the Ultimate Pass of 10 lessons is $770. Call 0433 190 838 to book.
