Five things are assessed
Speed management, road positioning, decision making, responding to hazards and vehicle control.
Free driving lesson quote
Find your fail items before the testing officer does
Most learners who fail were not short of skill. They repeated one habit, a missed head check or a rolling stop, often enough to become a fail item. A mock test scored the same way shows you which habit it is. Tell us your test date and centre.
Sydney South Driving School prepares learners for the Liverpool, Edmondson Park and Macarthur testing centres in automatic cars, with free door-to-door pick-up.
The short answer
Two rules decide your result
To pass the NSW driving test you must score at least 90 per cent and commit no fail items. A minor error lowers your score. A fail item means you do not pass, even with a score above 90 per cent. If you commit one, the test usually continues so you get a full assessment, but the result is already a fail.
How scoring works
How the testing officer marks your drive
The driving test is a set course over 25 zones. The testing officer directs the drive and records your performance on a score sheet, zone by zone.
Each requirement gets a tick or a circle
A tick means you demonstrated the requirement in that zone. A circle means you did not, and the feedback sheet reads it as further practice needed.
Observation and signal errors are noted
A missed observation is recorded against decision making with an H in the notes. A missed signal is recorded with an S. Repeat either and it becomes a fail item.
Your percentage and fail items decide the result
The testing officer calculates your result back at the centre. A pass needs 90 per cent or more and no fail items.
The fail items
The 19 fail items on the NSW driving test
Any one of these means you do not pass. The examples come from Transport for NSW's Guide to the Driving Test, and the numbers match the list printed on the score sheet.
| No. | Fail item | Examples from the official guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disobeying traffic signs, signals or road markings | Not stopping at a red light, or at a yellow light when it is safe to stop. A final stopped position more than 1m from the stop line, or any part of the car over it. Crossing a continuous line unnecessarily. |
| 2 | Failing to give way when necessary | Not giving way to a vehicle with priority at an intersection, to pedestrians at crossings, or when merging or changing lanes. |
| 3 | Colliding with a vehicle, pedestrian or object | Includes mounting or straddling a traffic dome, and mounting the kerb or a roundabout. Touching the kerb face with your wheels is not a fail. |
| 4 | Performing an illegal act or manoeuvre | Turning from the wrong lane, an unlawful U-turn, the wrong lane at a roundabout, not wearing a seatbelt, or answering or using a mobile phone. |
| 5 | Exceeding the speed limit | At any time, including a 40km/h school zone, passing a bus with flashing lights, passing a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights, the learner speed limit and road works. |
| 6 | Action requiring testing officer intervention | Any verbal or physical help, including the officer using the dual controls in an instructor's car. |
| 7 | Causing a dangerous situation | Any unsafe act that puts you or others at risk, such as overtaking unsafely or giving way unnecessarily. |
| 8 | Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle | Rolling back more than 500mm when moving off, skidding or spinning the wheels, coasting, or not keeping effective control of the steering. |
| 9 | Failing to exercise due care to avoid an accident | Not being ready to respond when a situation requires it. |
| 10 | Failing to give way to an emergency vehicle | Not moving out of the way of an emergency vehicle. |
| 11 | Disobeying directions from a person controlling traffic | Police, emergency services, traffic controllers such as a flag person at road works, and pilot vehicles. |
| 12 | Frequently not signalling intention | Repeatedly not signalling when required, including at least five seconds before leaving the kerb or a parking space, and when exiting a roundabout. |
| 13 | Refusing to attempt any part of the test | The whole test must be completed to pass. |
| 14 | Repeated or deliberate failure to follow directions | Not following the testing officer's reasonable directions. |
| 15 | Unreasonably obstructing other vehicles or pedestrians | Entering an intersection without space to clear it, or driving significantly below the speed limit when conditions do not require it. |
| 16 | Receiving external advice or instruction during the test | Any advice from a third party from the moment you sign the score sheet. |
| 17 | Not parking to the required standard | Finishing more than 1m from the kerb, wheels on or over parking lines, or reversing more than 7m from the car in front in the reverse park. |
| 18 | Failing to maintain a safe following distance | Following too closely. The official guide sets three seconds as the minimum gap. |
| 19 | Frequently not performing observation checks | Repeatedly missing head checks when leaving or returning to the kerb, changing lanes, merging, reversing, turning, or crossing lanes to exit a roundabout. |
When the test stops early
Immediate fails and terminated tests
Most fail items let the test carry on. Two other outcomes end it on the spot.
Immediate fail
The testing officer can record an immediate fail if you do something unsafe or dangerous that is an obvious danger to the public, or if you refuse to cooperate so a proper test cannot be given. You are not allowed to finish, and the officer may drive you back to the service centre.
Terminated test
A termination is about something other than your driving. The test is terminated if the car is unsuitable or unroadworthy, a crash happens during the test regardless of who is at fault, you are suspected of being affected by alcohol or drugs, you offer a bribe, you are too ill to drive safely, the weather makes the drive too demanding, or your log book is incomplete. The test fee may not be refunded.
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Before test day
The fail items that end the most tests are habits
Speeding, rolling stops, missed head checks and following too closely rarely happen once. They are routines that slip under pressure, which is why learners at the Orange Grove Road centre drill them in Liverpool driving lessons before paying for the real test.
A mock test marked against the same 19 items, in the car you will sit the test in, shows which habits still slip under pressure.
Official information
Checked 13 September 2026
The scoring rules, fail items and termination criteria on this page come from Transport for NSW's A Guide to the Driving Test, whose score sheet is dated February 2026, and the NSW Government driving test page, both checked on 13 September 2026.
Transport for NSW
A Guide to the Driving Test (PDF) Driving test Book a driver licence test
Suburbs taught by Ashraf
Liverpool and surrounding areas
Every suburb below has its own page with local road detail and booking information. Pick-up and drop-off is free anywhere on this list.
View all 38 Liverpool suburbs we serve
Liverpool
Our home base. Lessons cover the 40km/h zones and pedestrian traffic around Liverpool Hospital and the Bigge Street precinct, then step up to the Hume Highway. Pick-up from Westfield Liverpool, Liverpool Station, local schools and workplaces.
Warwick Farm
The Liverpool Service NSW testing centre sits on Orange Grove Road in Warwick Farm, so this is the natural place to rehearse the decisions you will make the moment you leave the car park.
Casula
Sits on the Hume Highway south of Liverpool. Layered give-way decisions and arterial merging make it strong ground once the basics are steady.
Edmondson Park
Home to one of the region's Service NSW driver testing centres. Learners here practise on the same estate layout, roundabouts and school zones they will be assessed on.
Prestons
The structured street grid gives consistent kerb lines and bay spacing, which makes reverse parking and roundabout work far easier to repeat until it sticks.
Chipping Norton
Early control work runs on Wilby Street and Ashfordby Street, three-point turns on Derby Crescent, then a measured move into Governor Macquarie Drive traffic.
Moorebank
Newbridge Road and the M5 interchange give you genuine motorway entries and exits without travelling far from home.
Green Valley
Quiet residential roads off Cowpasture Road make an easy starting point for a first-ever lesson, with arterial traffic close by when you are ready.
Hoxton Park
Steady Cowpasture Road traffic paired with calmer surrounding estates, so a lesson can move between the two without a long drive.
Cecil Hills
Curved estate roads and real gradients here are ideal for controlled hill starts and accurate road positioning.
Cabramatta
A busy town centre with constant pedestrian movement. Lessons here sharpen observation timing and hazard awareness more than anywhere else on the Liverpool side.
Hinchinbrook
A quieter pocket that suits building a reliable routine before heavier traffic gets involved. Ashraf collects you from home, school or work.
Bonnyrigg
Lessons concentrate on low-speed control and parking repetition, then progress toward Cabramatta and central Liverpool as confidence grows.
Bonnyrigg Heights
Good ground for practising controlled stops and smooth take-offs, with the same instructor tracking your progress from one lesson to the next.
Wattle Grove
Well-planned estate streets beside Holsworthy allow steady skill building at a relaxed pace before test-route work begins.
Milperra
Henry Lawson Drive and its bridge approaches provide solid multi-lane driving and merging experience close to home.
Holsworthy
Quiet residential streets sit alongside the Heathcote Road corridor, so one lesson can cover both ends of the difficulty range.
Hammondville
A compact suburb on the Heathcote Road side of the service area, close enough to Liverpool for regular test-route practice.
Voyager Point
Quiet riverside streets stay genuinely low-pressure, which makes this a kind place for a nervous learner to take a first lesson.
Sandy Point
Narrow local roads teach careful positioning and patience with oncoming traffic, then lessons head toward Liverpool for busier conditions.
Horningsea Park
Newer estate streets suit early lessons, and test preparation is usually built around the Edmondson Park centre.
Denham Court
Open, higher-speed roads make this useful for speed management and judging safe gaps, paired with Edmondson Park test-route practice.
Austral
Newer estate streets off Craik Avenue suit a first lesson, with Bringelly Road and Camden Valley Way close by for arterial practice. Test preparation is usually built around the Edmondson Park centre.
Carnes Hill
Three environments close together: calm residential circuits, the Marketplace precinct for low-speed hazards, and Cowpasture Road for multi-lane traffic and turning lanes.
Middleton Grange
A newer estate built around roundabouts rather than cross intersections, so give-way judgement and approach speed get practised from the first lesson. Fifteenth Avenue is close by for arterial work.
Leppington
New estates beside the old semi-rural grid, so a lesson moves from quiet roundabout streets to the changing limits of Ingleburn Road. Camden Valley Way leads straight to the Edmondson Park centre.
West Hoxton
Calm residential streets inside the suburb and heavy Cowpasture Road traffic on its edge, so lessons move from first hours to test-route lane choices without a long drive.
Ashcroft
Under two kilometres from the Orange Grove Road test centre, with two school zones and Maxwells Avenue between the quiet grid and Elizabeth Drive.
Busby
A roundabout-rich residential network for give-way practice, with South Liverpool Road for busier traffic and Orange Grove Road under four kilometres away.
Cartwright
Short Place streets that suit three-point turns and kerbside stops, with Joadja Road and Hoxton Park Road for the step up to arterial traffic.
Elizabeth Hills
A new estate with one of the highest roundabout counts in the area, and Cowpasture Road beside it for arterial practice toward Liverpool.
Heckenberg
Compact Snowy Mountains-named streets either side of South Liverpool Road, with Elizabeth Drive on its edge for the step up to heavier traffic.
Lurnea
Every road type in one suburb: eighty-plus quiet streets, three school zones, Hill Road, Hoxton Park Road and the M5 on its edge.
Miller
Miller Central's car park hazards and school zones on Cabramatta and Cartwright Avenues, with Hoxton Park Road for arterial practice.
Mount Pritchard
Around a hundred residential streets for varied practice, three school zones, and Elizabeth Drive two kilometres from the Orange Grove Road centre.
Sadleir
A quiet core with no arterial road through it, edged by Cartwright, Heckenberg and Sadleir Avenues, which makes it an easy place for a first or nervous lesson.
Bardia
Ed Square and the Edmondson Park test centre sit just across Campbelltown Road, with four roundabouts along Bardia Avenue and five sets of lights onto Campbelltown Road.
Len Waters Estate
A business precinct rather than a housing estate: pick-up from work or the shops, trucks and buses on Airfield Drive, and the Westlink M7 interchange on Cowpasture Road.
Suburbs taught by George Hany
Campbelltown and Macarthur
George Hany covers every suburb below. Choose yours for local road detail, or book straight away and he will come to you.
View all 26 Campbelltown and Macarthur suburbs we serve
Campbelltown
George's home ground. Lessons start on quiet crescents, then build to Narellan Road's multi-lane intersections, the Macarthur Square approaches and the Hume Motorway interchanges.
Macquarie Fields
Has its own Service NSW driver testing centre, which makes it the natural test choice for learners in the northern Macarthur suburbs.
Ingleburn
The town centre grid handles the early work, then lessons move onto the busier Campbelltown Road corridor and its school zones.
Narellan
Narellan Road meets Camden Valley Way here, so learners get repeated practice at genuine multi-lane intersections and lane choice under pressure.
Oran Park
A modern road network of roundabouts and school zones off The Northern Road. Clear signage makes it a good place to build give-way confidence.
Camden
Historic town streets ask for slow, precise driving, while the Camden Bypass covers open-road speed management in the same lesson.
Mount Annan
Estate streets and roundabouts near the Australian Botanic Garden let beginners build early skills without traffic pressure.
Minto
A mix of industrial roads and quiet residential streets, which gives George room to vary a lesson plan without leaving the suburb.
Leumeah
Railway crossings and steady suburban traffic close to Campbelltown centre make this useful for reading the road ahead.
Glen Alpine
Elevated streets give consistent slopes for practising controlled stops and smooth hill take-offs.
St Helens Park
Another suburb with reliable gradients, so hill starts stop being the thing you dread before test day.
Ambarvale
Hilly residential streets and compact blocks suit gradient control and low-speed manoeuvres in the same session.
Woodbine
Compact residential blocks give generous kerb space for reverse parking and three-point turns.
Ruse
Quiet residential crescents make Ruse a comfortable place for the very first session: cockpit setup, moving off, stopping and mirror habits.
Raby
Looping estate streets with clear sight lines are ideal for repeating turns, kerbside stops and three-point turns until they feel automatic.
Kearns
Low-traffic crescents beside Eagle Vale help absolute beginners establish steering and pedal control before anything else.
Eagle Vale
Local shopping-centre approaches and roundabouts feature heavily, which is good preparation for the decisions examiners watch closely.
St Andrews
Local streets suit steering, road position and head-check practice, with the Campbelltown Road corridor a short step away.
Rosemeadow
Winding local roads and active school zones sharpen speed awareness and forward observation.
Currans Hill
Quiet estate roads with quick access to Narellan Road, so a lesson can step up to arterial traffic as soon as you are ready.
Gregory Hills
A newer estate with modern roundabouts, wide roads and clear signage. Plenty of space to make mistakes safely and fix them.
Harrington Park
Well-laid-out estate roads near Camden Valley Way are good for consolidating skills before test-route practice begins.
Elderslie
Sits between Camden and Narellan, mixing older street layouts with newer estate roads in a single lesson.
Camden Park
Quiet roads on the rural edge of the Macarthur region help build comfort with higher speed limits and open-road observation.
Emerald Hills
The Emerald Hills estate has modern intersections and clear signage, which makes it a forgiving place for early traffic decisions.
Willowdale
Wide streets through the Willowdale estate suit first-time learners, with Edmondson Park and Macarthur test routes both within reach.
Driving lessons
Turn the guide into safer driving skills
Choose structured support for your current stage and goals.
Beginner driving lessons
Build vehicle control, observation and safe routines with calm, structured coaching.
Driving test preparation
Practise speed choice, positioning, decisions, hazard response and vehicle control.
Lessons for nervous drivers
Develop confidence through clear explanations, staged practice and useful feedback.
Frequently asked questions
Driving test mistake questions
Use the official links on this page to confirm current rules for your situation.
How many mistakes are you allowed in the NSW driving test?
There is no set number. You pass if you score at least 90 per cent with no fail items. Minor errors reduce your score, so a few are allowed. A single fail item, such as speeding, failing to give way or a rolling stop over the line, means you do not pass regardless of your score.
What is the pass mark for the NSW driving test?
At least 90 per cent, with no fail items. Both conditions must be met.
What are automatic fails in the NSW driving test?
Transport for NSW lists 19 fail items, including disobeying signs or signals, failing to give way, exceeding the speed limit, the testing officer having to intervene, rolling back more than 500mm, parking more than 1m from the kerb, following too closely, and frequently missing observation checks or signals. Separately, an immediate fail stops the test on the spot if you create an obvious danger to the public or refuse to cooperate.
Does the test stop if I make a fail item?
Usually not. The test normally continues so you get a full assessment of your driving, but you will not pass. The test only stops early for an immediate fail or a termination.
Is touching the kerb a fail in the NSW driving test?
Touching the kerb face with your wheels is not a fail. Mounting the kerb, a roundabout or a traffic dome counts as a collision, which is fail item 3.
Can you fail for driving too slowly?
Yes. Driving significantly below the speed limit when conditions do not require it can be marked as unreasonably obstructing other vehicles, which is fail item 15.
How many missed head checks fail the test?
No number is published. A single missed check is recorded as an observation error and lowers your score. Frequently missing checks is fail item 19, so treat every head check as required.
How soon can I rebook after failing?
You need at least 7 days between a failed test and your next test, and you pay the $72 test fee again. You also need a licensed driver to drive you home, because you cannot drive away on your own after a fail.
Driving lessons
Sit a mock test marked like the real one
An accredited instructor drives you through the test routes and marks every zone, so you know your score and your fail-item risks before test day.
Automatic lessonsLocal pick-up and drop-offOpen daily, 7am to 7pm