Do you need a special license to tow a caravan?

If you’ve ever been stuck behind a slow-moving caravan that’s wandering all over the road and making it impossible for you to overtake, you’ve probably speculated on the need for a special caravan towing license. But, in Australia, provided you have a full driving license and the caravan and tow-vehicle don’t exceed the mass limits that involve an endorsed or heavy vehicle license, there’s no such requirement. Whether that’s the ideal situation from a safety point of view is one thing, but it remains the law. But that’s not to say there aren’t specific caravan towing regulations, because there are…lots of them.

Those start when you become a learner-driver or a P-plater, inasmuch as some states and territories allow L-platers to tow, while others don’t. However, it’s not a simple set of rules and it varies between the states and territories. So here’s how it pans out for learner-drivers:

In Western Australia, learner drivers can legally tow a trailer or caravan. Obviously, they still need a fully-licensed person in the front seat beside them, just as they do for any L-plate driving in any state. The same goes for South Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland. It also applies to the ACT with the caveat that the towed trailer or caravan may not exceed 750kg GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass).

In New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, L-platers are not allowed to tow anything.

But can you tow a trailer on P-plates? For P-platers, it’s no less confusing, mainly because some states have two-tier P-plate systems, with different rules for each. So here goes:

In the ACT, the first 12 months of your P-plates means the same towing restrictions as your L-plates. That is, you can tow a trailer, but nothing over 750g GVM. Once you move to your green (P2) permit, you can tow as if you had a full license.

For NSW, the P1 permit allows you to tow only a trailer with an unladen mass of less than 250kg, so that rules out any caravans. Once you move to your P2 permit, you can tow any legal load in NSW.

The NT has only a single-tier P-plate system and that allows holders to tow a caravan or any other legal combination.

QLD allows all P-platers to tow any legal combination.

In SA, there are no restrictions on P-platers towing.

Tasmania is the same as SA with no restrictions on P-platers towing.

Victorian P1 drivers cannot tow anything, but those restrictions are dropped once the person has attained their P2 permit.

In WA, P-platers can tow with no restrictions.

Of course, there are exceptions to some of this, including, in some states, an exemption for a P-plater to tow if their employment requires it. These vary from state to state so you need to check each location and each driver specifically to avoid making a mistake and winding up in trouble with the law.

The other question that crops up is whether, say, a young driver with a South Australian L-plate wants to cross the border into Victoria while towing a trailer or caravan. Is that allowed? On the surface, it’s not as Victorian L-platers can’t tow. But dig a bit deeper and the consensus seems to be that the rules of the home state apply to the driver regardless of what state or territory they find themselves in. We say consensus rather than rule of law, because there have been cases where the police officer on the spot has not agreed with this interpretation of the law. And we all know how that can end.

Getting back to our original scenario where a caravan is holding up traffic, it seems a bit academic, but is there a speed limit for towing a caravan? Yes there is, although, again, it’s very fragmented along state and territory lines.

NSW allows a caravan to be towed at the posted speed limit unless the combination (car and trailer) weighs more than 4500kg. At that point the limit becomes the posted limit or 100km/h, which ever is lower. And with a modern four-wheel-drive towing a full-sized caravan, breaching that limit is a very real possibility.

WA takes the approach of limiting all towed loads to 100km/h, even if the posted limit is higher.

In all other state sand territories, a caravan or other trailer can be towed at the posted limit. The other exception is Tasmania, where there’s a 12-tonne limit to that, after which you’re restricted to specific speed limits, but it’s the posted limit up to that point.

The over-riding proviso with all these scenarios, of course, is that the vehicles are in roadworthy condition and that you are driving safely and to the conditions regardless of what the maximum speed limit is for that stretch of road.

So should there be a license to tow a caravan? Plenty of people reckon we’re over-governed as it is, and exactly what the mooted caravan license requirements would be is anybody’s guess. Doubtless they’d vary from state to state which might water them down considerably. So what about the grand concept of a Caravan License Australia, which would apply anywhere in the country? Well, when the states and territories can’t agree on so many other issues and so obviously value their sovereignty (read; control) that seems unlikely.

Which means the best advice is to take matters into your own hands and sign up for a caravan towing course. These are structured and run by specialist training companies and are likely to be of much more practical use to you than a set of regulations dreamed up by a bureaucrat.