Drug driving law in Australia
The law on drug driving, listed plainly
Roadside testing, penalties, medicines and court, set out state by state from each government’s own pages and dated, so you can read what applies where you live.
A guide by Dotto. Not a law firm.
This site does not act for anyone, take enquiries about charges or recommend lawyers. It reads the official pages of transport and health departments, legislation sites, courts and Legal Aid in each state and territory, and sets out what they say in plain language. Where it matters, it tells you whose page to check for the current figure.
The daily list
Six matters, one sheet each. Every figure on them was read on the named official page in October 2026.
| No. | Room | Matter |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Room 1 · Testing | Roadside drug testing How the roadside saliva test works, and which drugs each state screens for. |
| 02 | Room 2 · Penalties | Drug driving penalties by state Fines, licence periods and gaol terms, copied from each state’s own page and dated. |
| 03 | Room 3 · Medicines | Medicinal cannabis and driving Where a prescription changes the law, where it does not, and what is changing. |
| 04 | Room 3 · Medicines | Prescription medicines and driving Everyday medicines that can affect driving, and the offences that can reach them. |
| 05 | Room 4 · Court | Going to court for a traffic offence The paperwork, the day itself and what comes after, from the courts’ own guides. |
| 06 | Room 5 · Help | Getting legal help Legal Aid in each state, community legal centres, and questions about cost. |
Two different kinds of charge
In most states, drug driving charges come in two kinds, and the difference shapes everything that follows. The first is about presence: in New South Wales, for example, it is against the law to drive with the presence of any illegal drug in your system, and the roadside saliva test is how police find it.
The second is about impairment: driving while affected by, or under the influence of, a drug. In New South Wales that charge can follow blood and urine tests ordered when police reasonably suspect a driver is under the influence, and it can involve illegal or prescription drugs. In Western Australia the same idea appears as drug impaired driving, the more serious offence, which applies to drivers so impaired by prescription or illicit drugs that they cannot properly control a vehicle.
A presence charge needs no sign that your driving was affected. Queensland’s transport department puts it simply: there is zero tolerance, and any trace of a relevant drug can be penalised.
What changed recently
New South Wales: a medicinal cannabis scheme, passed but not yet in force
The Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026 passed on 17 September 2026. Transport for NSW says the change has not yet come into effect and that commencement is anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027. Until then, it remains an offence to drive after taking THC, whatever its source.
Western Australia: cocaine added to roadside tests
On 10 September 2026 the WA Government announced that WA Police had introduced roadside devices that detect cocaine, alongside THC, methylamphetamine and MDMA.
Queensland: a review, and no change for medicinal cannabis
Queensland’s Drug Driving Review recommended streamlining roadside testing, combined drink and drug driving offences and an education program for convicted drug drivers. On medicinal cannabis, it concluded that no changes should be made to the zero tolerance laws. The government says legislation will progress in 2026.
Victoria: discretion for prescribed medicinal cannabis
Since 1 March 2025, Victorian magistrates have had discretion over whether to cancel the licence of a driver with a valid medicinal cannabis prescription who was not impaired. Transport Victoria notes that this does not guarantee the licence will be kept.
About this guide
This is general information, written for people who want to understand the rules: a driver who has been stopped, a family member, a patient on a new prescription, or anyone reading ahead. It is not legal advice and it cannot assess anyone’s own matter.
For help with a charge, Legal Aid in each state and territory has a phone line, and community legal centres give mostly free advice across the country. Their numbers are on the getting legal help sheet, each copied from the organisation’s own website.