Rideshare Driving in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth

Why these four cities

Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth appear together repeatedly in Uber's Australian new-driver material because Uber runs city-specific promotions that name them as eligible cities. That shared billing can give the impression that driving is the same in all four. It is not.

The four cities span three state regulators, and each state sets its own driver authorisation and vehicle requirements. Uber layers its national minimums and vehicle rules on top. If you are deciding where you will drive — or moving between these cities — the state rules are the part most likely to trip you up.

Queensland: Brisbane and the Gold Coast

Both Brisbane and the Gold Coast fall under Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR). According to Uber's Queensland guidance and TMR (checked 9 October 2026), driver-partners must hold:

• a current Booked Hire/Taxi (BHTX) Driver Authorisation, for which a commercial standards medical assessment is required before you apply;
• for the vehicle, a current Booked Hire Service Licence (BHSL), which requires a current Certificate of Inspection (unless exempt) and the correct class of Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance.

Queensland also requires drivers to complete a short driver safety education course (under 30 minutes) before using the app. TMR states that a driver authorisation application usually takes about 2–3 weeks to be approved. For the BHTX authorisation, applicants must have held a licence for a continuous period of at least 1 year (an Australian open, restricted, provisional or probationary licence, or a recognised overseas licence), and must meet TMR's work-entitlement and suitability requirements, which include medical, criminal-history and traffic-history checks.

South Australia: Adelaide

Adelaide is regulated by the South Australian Government. SA.GOV.AU's guidance (checked 9 October 2026) sets out a two-part accreditation model for rideshare:

• a person can become a rideshare driver if they hold a full South Australian driver's licence, have relevant police clearances and meet minimum fitness requirements;
• if you are the registered owner of the vehicle you will use, you need both driver accreditation and operator accreditation.

For small passenger vehicle (rideshare) driver accreditation, SA requires a current unrestricted South Australian licence, a full Australian licence held for at least 6 months, and a certificate of fitness — commercial vehicle drivers dated by a medical practitioner within the last 3 months. Rideshare driver accreditation is valid for 3 years, or until the Working with Children Check or SA licence expires, whichever is sooner. There is no cost to apply for rideshare driver accreditation, but annual instalment payments are required. One regional note: SA has removed the separate out-of-metro accreditation, so metropolitan-based drivers can now operate statewide.

Western Australia: Perth

Perth sits under Western Australian regulations. According to Uber's WA guidance (checked 9 October 2026), drivers need:

• a Passenger Transport Driver (PTD) Authorisation, for which you must first pass a medical assessment and lodge a background check; and
• for the vehicle, a Passenger Transport Vehicle (PTV) On-demand Charter (OD-C) authorisation, plus 3F Motor Injury Insurance on the registration.

A DoT-accredited vehicle inspection is booked when you apply for the PTV authorisation. As in the other states, the practical effect is a two-track process: you are authorised as a driver, and your vehicle is separately authorised and insured for passenger transport.

What is the same everywhere

Regardless of city, the same national baseline applies from Uber's Australian requirements (checked 9 October 2026):

• you must be at least 20 years old (21 in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania — not relevant to these four cities, but worth noting if you move);
• you must hold a valid full driver's licence and meet the jurisdiction's licence-tenure rule;
• you need a qualifying vehicle with a 5-star ANCAP rating or an Uber-approved exemption;
• you must register for an ABN, and the ATO requires rideshare drivers to be GST registered;
• you must pass a background check (the provider varies by city) and provide your documents.

Our requirements guide sets the state tenure rules out side by side.

Practical differences to plan around

• Two authorisations, not one. In Queensland, South Australia (if you own the car) and Western Australia, you deal with a driver authorisation and a vehicle authorisation separately. Budget time and paperwork for both.
• Medical checks. Queensland (medical assessment) and South Australia (certificate of fitness) both require a medical step; SA specifies a certificate dated within 3 months.
• Insurance classes. Passenger-transport use generally needs a different CTP or injury-insurance class — in Queensland the correct CTP class, in WA 3F Motor Injury Insurance — and using the wrong class can invalidate cover.
• Timelines. Queensland publishes a 2–3 week approval estimate for its driver authorisation; other states do not publish a single figure, so assume paperwork can delay your start.
• Vehicle inspections. Queensland (Certificate of Inspection), Victoria (RedBook) and WA (DoT-accredited inspection) each run their own inspection regime; these four cities are covered by the Queensland and WA systems.

Confirm before you commit

Because the rules above are summaries checked on a single date, use them as a map and not as a substitute for the source. Before you buy a vehicle, pay a fee or restructure your week, confirm the current authorisation, insurance class and vehicle inspection requirements directly with the relevant regulator — Queensland's TMR, the South Australian Government, or Western Australia's Department of Transport — and complete your onboarding in Uber's own app or signup flow.

If you plan to sign up, our start driving page links to the public referral flow, and our referral disclosure explains our interest in it. Remember that a city being named in a promotion does not mean an offer is guaranteed or currently running.

Related reading

Go deeper on Queensland with getting started with rideshare driving in Queensland, and on the shared national layer with how to become an Uber driver in Australia and the requirements, licences and checks guide. For the offer context behind these city names, see referral offers and eligibility. City-by-city detail is in the individual guides: Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth. Browse cities and regions or return to the home page. See also our editorial policy.