If you have a health concern that is likely to make your driving less safe, you need to talk to your doctor. Your doctor will help you understand the impact of any illness, disability or medical condition on your driving. Also talk to your doctor if you have a medical condition that's getting worse.
If your doctor decides that your condition could make your driving less safe, you’ll need to have a medical assessment to see if you meet the national Assessing Fitness to Drive standards.
At your appointment, ask your doctor to assess your medical fitness to drive.
You must let your doctor know if you also:
Sometimes your doctor may decide that a medical specialist qualified in managing your medical condition will also need to assess you. Your doctor will need this specialist’s report before completing your Medicate Certificate for Driver form.
For example, you may need to do a practical driving assessment with an occupational therapist who is qualified to do this.
Ask your doctor, if you're eligible for an interim medical certificate if there's a delay before you can get a specialist appointment.
If your doctor decides that you have a medical condition that affects your driving, you'll need to give us your Medical certificate for Driver form.
Read more about:
Your doctor will give you a completed Medical Certificate for Driver form after assessing your medical fitness to drive.
You must give us this medical certificate if:
You must give us this form each time your doctor assesses your fitness to drive if you have a condition that affects your ability to drive safely.
Find out how to submit your medical certificate to us.
Your doctor may make some recommendations to us about your licence on your Medical Certificate for Drivers.
Sometimes the doctor may recommend that we allow you to continue to drive if you comply with certain licence conditions. We may then issue you with a conditional driver licence. These conditions can relate to medical treatments, driving restrictions or vehicle modifications and mean you can continue to drive safely.
Read more about how medical conditions affect your licence.
If we issue you with a conditional driver licence, you must always carry the ‘tear off’ medical certificate section of the form when you drive. You must also comply with any licence conditions.
If your doctor has asked you to see a specialist, you may meet the criteria for an interim medical certificate so that you can continue to drive while waiting for the appointment.
To be eligible for an interim medical certificate:
It’s illegal for you to drive if you’re being treated with medical cannabis that contains THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is the main psychoactive component in most cannabis.
You can’t use a valid prescription for medicinal cannabis to defend a charge if you test positive for THC in a roadside drug test.
We suggest you speak with your doctor regarding your specific prescription.
Using THC can affect your ability to drive, including:
Unlike alcohol, there’s no set amount of cannabis that makes it okay to drive. This means it’s hard to make a rule about how much is safe for driving.
Some medicines can reduce your ability to drive safely. They can affect your:
Many types of medicines can affect driving.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist if your medications could make your driving less safe. Different drugs can interact with each other so make sure you tell your doctor or pharmacist about all the medications that you’re taking.
Some examples of medications you should ask your doctor or pharmacist about are:
You must not drive while taking medicinal cannabis. Read more about how medicinal cannabis affects driving and why it’s illegal.
Some over-the-counter medicines can affect your driving ability, such as cold and flu tablets.
If you take medication and are considering driving, ensure you read your medicine labels carefully and follow any instructions.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about how the drugs you are taking interact and if they will affect your driving.
Watch for any effects while you’re taking or changing your medications.
Don’t drive if you have blurred or double vision or are feeling:
If you’re having treatment for a medical condition, it can make your ability to drive less safe. Ask your doctor or other medical specialists about how your treatment can affect your ability to drive safely. You must follow your doctor’s advice about any non-driving period.
If you’ve had anaesthetic, your doctor may tell you not to drive for at least 24 hours. Your doctor will let you know if you’re safe to drive during your recovery after surgery.
If you have a cast on your leg, arm, or hand, you need to talk to your doctor about whether you can drive.
Wearing a cast could prevent you from safely using the vehicle controls, such as the gear stick or the pedals. You also need to always keep a hand on the steering wheel.
You may be able to operate a vehicle but you must be able to drive safely.
If you have had concussion, you need to ask your doctor if it’s safe for you to drive. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may tell you not to drive temporarily.
When you report a medical condition, we’ll consider what your doctor says on your Medical Certificate for Drivers form after your medical assessment. We'll decide whether we need to make any changes to your driver licence. We'll write to you with our decision.
A medical condition does not always mean you'll lose your licence. We might make no changes or we might add some licence conditions, if your doctor recommends them.
If you're medically fit to drive, we may decide you qualify for either:
If you're not medically fit to drive, we may suspend or cancel your licence.
Learn what to do if you don't agree with our decision.
If you meet the medical criteria for an unconditional licence, you will not have an M (medical) condition recorded on your driver licence. This means you’ll have no conditions or restrictions due to your medical condition on your driver licence.
If you’re 75 years or older, you must still carry a current medical certificate whenever you drive.
Licence conditions help manage your medical condition so that you can continue to drive safely and keep your driver licence.
If you meet the medical criteria for a conditional licence, we'll record an M condition on your licence.
We’ll routinely review your medical certificate to monitor how your medical condition is affecting your ability to drive safely. This helps keep you and everyone safe. At the review period on your certificate, you must get a medical review to confirm your fitness to continue driving.
Your conditional licence may include driving restrictions and vehicle modifications that you must comply with to keep a driver licence.
Some examples of driving restrictions that could be added to your licence are:
You must carry a current medical certificate whenever you drive and show your medical certificate to a police officer if you’re asked.
Your doctor or specialist may also add a licence condition that you must drive a modified vehicle. This will support you to drive independently while maintaining safety for both you and others.
Some examples are:
Read about the vehicle modifications and how to get approval.
The doctor may say that you're not medically fit to drive, either long term or permanently. You'll be given a medical certificate saying that you don’t meet the criteria to hold a licence and that you should no longer drive. You'll need to surrender your licence.
If you don't voluntarily surrender your licence, your doctor may give us a copy of your medical certificate form. We may then write to you about suspending or cancelling your licence.
You must not drive if we suspend or cancel your licence. If we cancel your licence and your medical condition improves, read how to get your licence again.
If the doctor has written a time range that you're not fit to drive on your medical certificate, then you'll need to give us your medical certificate form. You must not drive during the time that your doctor says you're not fit to drive. You'll need to give us a current medical certificate form before you can drive again.
If you disagree with our decision about your driver licence, you may apply for a review of the decision or provide a new medical certificate confirming your ability to drive safely.
We may send you a letter, for possible health reasons, to let you know we’re intending to:
We'll let you know:
If you don’t agree with this, you'll need to get your doctor to do a new fitness-to-drive medical assessment. You'll need to show your doctor the letter from us asking you to get a medical assessment.
Every licence holder must be medically fit to drive. If you have surrendered your licence or had your licence cancelled for medical reasons, you can apply to drive again if your medical condition has improved.
You’ll need to:
Bring your newly completed medical certificate form (F3712) into a Transport and motoring service centre. If it’s been:
You’ll need to pay the fees for a new licence. We would have refunded you the unused amount of your licence fee, if you’ve previously surrendered or had your driver licence cancelled for medical reasons.
Can I drive with my medical condition?, 16 Jan 2025, [https://oss-uat.clients.squiz.net/transport/licensing/healthy-to-drive/can-i-drive]
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