Assessing Fitness to Drive
Drivers need good vision, physical ability, and cognitive capacity to undertake the complex task of driving a motor vehicle. Driver health and fitness to drive is therefore an important factor in supporting the safety of Australians who use the roads.
The national driver medical standards Assessing Fitness to Drive (AFTD) set out the considerations and medical criteria for safe driving. They also guide the management of drivers with health conditions so that they may continue to drive for as long as it is safe to do so.
The standards are used by health professionals to assess and manage patients with health conditions that may affect their ability to drive safely. These assessments and the standards themselves inform Driver Licensing Authority decisions about driver licensing.
The standards are also applied more broadly towards monitoring and managing commercial vehicle driver fitness for duty. Assessments conducted for this purpose may be a feature of employer work health and safety programs or industry accreditation schemes.
The standards have been approved by Commonwealth, state and territory Transport Ministers.
This edition came into effect on 22 June 2022.
If you’d like to purchase a hard copy, please contact us at publications@austroads.gov.au.
Standards for fitness to drive
Search fitness to drive resources
Frequently asked questions
A quick overview of changes resulting from the recent review.
Important information for health professionals, including their role, making a report and contacts for more information.
Essential information about fitness to drive for private vehicle drivers, including your responsibilities as a driver, what to do if you are concerned about a driver, and what to do if you do not agree with an assessment.
Important information for commercial and heavy vehicle drivers including the commercial driver medical standards, your responsibilities as a driver, links to commercial driver health resources and what to do if you do not agree with an fitness to drive assessment outcome.
Essential information for employers including how the standards are applied for licensing of heavy vehicles and under accreditation schemes, and the forms you can use to manage fitness to drive assessments.
Assessing Fitness to Drive telephone and email contacts for each state and territory.
Information about the Assessing Fitness to Drive national implementation work.
Access forms and information about online reporting.
Stay connected
Subscribe below to receive updates about Assessing Fitness to Drive.