It’s illegal to freely use your phone while driving in Australia, but you won’t have your license suspended

The Facebook post, published here on November 19, has been shared over 2,200 times and claims that the new legislation was passed in Parliament.

The text-only post reads in part: “Any driver of the vehicle who touches the phone while driving or while the engine is running will be directly revoked for three months. The police will not tolerate or accept any excuses.”

Below is a screenshot of the full post:

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Posts with a similar claim were shared on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

The claim is misleading; touching a phone while driving is illegal in Australia nationwide, but the punishment is a fine -- not the revocation of one’s license.

Australia’s state and territory governments are responsible for making road laws, not the federal government, as per the country’s Constitution.

While every state and territory in Australia has the authority to govern its own roads, it is illegal nationwide for drivers to freely use mobile phones while their car is moving or in a stationary position, such as waiting in a queue or at a traffic light. 

In most states and territories, drivers are only allowed to use their phones freely when the car is parked, regardless of whether the engine is running or not. 

It's the exception in the Australian Capital Territory, where an Australian Federal Police spokesperson advised in an email on December 5 that "a vehicle’s engine needs to be off before a driver handles a mobile device, even one in a hands free cradle etc."

A spokesperson for the Western Australian Road Safety Commission added in a clarification email to AFP on December 3 that “whether a vehicle is ‘stationary but not parked’ may be a matter of the police officer’s discretion.”

Phones, however, can be used if they are securely mounted to the vehicle or operated by voice commands.

Yet learner and provisional licensed drivers are prohibited from using phones at all, even hands free, in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory. In Western Australia, learner and provisional drivers follow the same rules as fully licensed motorists.

But across all Australian states and territories, there is no law mandating that a license be revoked as punishment for a driver caught touching their phone illegally. 

The actual monetary penalties for drivers caught illicitly using their phones are as follows:

• New South Wales: AUD $344 [USD $235] fine, or AUD $457 if detected in a school zone, plus five demerit points.
• Victoria: AUD $484 fine, plus four demerit points.
• Queensland: AUD $400 fine, plus 3 demerit points.
• Western Australia: AUD $400 fine, plus 3 demerit points.
• South Australia: AUD $534 fine, plus 3 demerit points.
• Northern Territory: AUD $500 fine, plus 3 demerit points.
• Tasmania: AUD $336 fine, plus 3 demerit points.
• Australian Capital Territory: AUD $480, plus three demerit points.