NSW rules on using a mobile phone while driving
Drivers in New South Wales often discover that the rules around mobile phone use behind the wheel are stricter than they expect. This guide explains the applicable jurisdiction, licence conditions, and driver conduct covered by the phone restrictions. It also outlines how a notice of violation may be issued and which road restriction or reporting authority can be involved.
Essential answer
In NSW, a driver generally cannot hold or operate a mobile phone while driving, including when stopped at traffic lights or in a queue. The restriction applies to calls, texting, video, social media, and navigation unless the phone is secured in a cradle and used without touching it. Learners and provisional licence holders face tighter limits, because their licence conditions permit almost no phone functionality while the vehicle is moving or stationary but not parked.
The scope changes with where the vehicle sits. A driver who is parked with the engine off can use a phone legally, but a vehicle idling in a drive-through or at a roadside stop remains within the road restriction. Enforcement may come from police or camera-based systems operated by the reporting authority, leading to a notice of violation. The penalty applies to the act of use, not only to a crash, so the essential answer is that touching a phone while in control of a moving or temporarily stopped vehicle is prohibited.