Can you legally use your phone in the car if it is mounted?
Aussie drivers who want to avoid copping a fine exceeding $1,000 in one state have been reminded when and if they can use their mobile phone while driving.
Motorists can still be fined for touching their phones even if the device is secured in a cradle that has been mounted to the dashboard.
The rules on mounted phones use vary by state and territory but one thing nearly all, expect Victoria, have in common is that P1 and learner drivers are banned from using a mounted phone for any reason.
Green P-platers in Queensland, SA, WA, and Tasmania are allowed to have their phones in a cradle but must follow the rules for fully-licensed drivers.
The rules for each state and territory, along with penalties differ. Here, Daily Mail Australia has provided a comprehensive guide to how you can avoid a hefty fine.
New South Wales
In NSW, phone holders must be commercially manufactured, fixed to the vehicle and must not obscure a driver's vision.
Fully licensed drivers can use and touch their phones while its in a phone holder to make and receive calls, play audio, or for navigation purposes.
But drivers will be fined $410 if they're caught using their phone to text or watch videos while its in the holder and they're in motion.
The fine jumps to $544 and five demerit points if the offence is in a school zone.
Victoria
According to the Transport Victoria 'drivers with a full licence can use a mobile phone or device to make or receive a phone call, use audio and music functions, use GPS navigation, or use in-built driver assistance or vehicle safety features'.
But the device has to be 'properly mounted or in-built to the vehicle'.
Learners and P-platers can use a phone for audio and GPS if the phone is mounted in a commercially designed cradle and is untouched while the car is moving.
Drivers holding any license can't text, scroll, or watch videos while driving.
The fine in Victoria is $593 and four demerit points.
Queensland
In Queensland, drivers with an open or P2 licence can touch their phone for hands-free use if the phone is in a cradle attached to the car.
Hands-free use also includes accepting a call, using navigation tools, skipping a song or accepting or ending a trip as a rideshare driver.
A mobile phone must not obscure the driver's view of the road.
The penalties are stricter on the Sunshine State where drivers are fined $1,209 and four lost demerit points for misusing a phone while driving.
Western Australia
In WA, a phone in a cradle can only be touched to make, receive or end a call.
'It is illegal for all drivers to create, send or look at a text message, video message, email or similar, even if the phone is mounted in a cradle or can be operating without touching it,' Transport WA states.
Even if the phone is mounted, dictating a text through Siri could still get a driver fined.
WA's laws also forbid touching a phone to skipping a song or adjusting navigation.
Drivers can be hit with a $500 fine and three demerit points if they're caught touching their phone. But if a motorist is creating, sending or viewing a message, email, or social post, the penalty goes up to $1,000 and another demerit point.
South Australia
In SA, a phone can only be used to make or receive a phone call, excluding email, text or video messages, as long as the phone is secured in a mounting device to the vehicle or being operated remotely.
Unlike other states, drivers can't touch their phone to skip a song, change a podcast, or adjust navigation, even if it's sitting in a legal cradle.
Breaking the rules is a $556 fine with an additional $102 Victims of Crime Levy, and three demerit points.
In 2024, mobile phone detection cameras in the state generated nearly $7million from 10,000 fines in 30 days, according to a report from drive.com.au.
Tasmania
The Transport Tasmania website states that 'using a mobile phone while driving is banned except to make or receive a phone call provided the phone is secured in a commercially designed holder fixed to the vehicle; or can be operated by the driver without touching any part of the phone'.
All other purposes including video calls, texting and emailing are banned but accepting, declining, and making a phone call is allowed if the mobile is in the cradle.
Drivers caught using their phone face a $390 fine and three demerit points.
ACT
In the ACT, fully licenced drivers can play music, use GPS, and make or receive phone calls, but only if the phone is secured in a cradle mount or connected to Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, or Android Auto.
Drivers can make and receive phone calls on a full licence 'if your mobile device is mounted to the vehicle using a mobile phone holder or connected via Bluetooth or wired connection (such as CarPlay or Android Auto)'.
Drivers in the ACT can touch their phones when it is secured in a cradle to make or receive calls but for no other reason. If caught using a phone for anything else, motorists can be slapped with a $654 fine and four demerit points.
Northern Territory
In the NT, drivers can only use a mobile phone while driving to make or receive an audio phone call or as a driver's aid if the phone is secured in a cradle or if it can be operated by the driver without touching any part of the phone.
Drivers can touch their phones when making or receiving a phone call or operating GPS, but texting, watching videos, and video calling are forbidden.
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