Is 130km/h the speed limit in Australia?

With a few exceptions, the speed limit in Australia is 50km/h in built-up areas, and 100km/h in rural areas. Western Australia and the Northern Territory have a higher standard speed limit for rural areas – 110km/h. The 130km/h speed limit only applies on the Northern Territory’s Stuart and Barkly Highways.

If you’re renting a hire car in Australia, then you need to be prepared for a few differences from driving in the UK. Even though Australia drives on the left.

Expect long distances – Sydney to Byron Bay takes at least eight hours, and that’s not even leaving New South Wales. You also need to be aware that the drink drive limit is lower – so be ultra-careful with that glass of wine in the pub.

Novice drivers in Australia are likely to be surprised by outback roadhouses, and the ever-present kangaroo peril if driving at night.

Speed limits in Australia

But perhaps the key thing to be aware of is speed limits. The owner of this site is the not-so-proud owner of two Australian speeding fines. Australian police are ruthless in enforcing speed limits, often because they’ve got nothing better to do in country areas. And they are more than happy to chase and chase overseas culprits until they get their money.

Australia doesn’t have the same speed limit as the UK, largely because it works in kilometres rather than miles. But the standard speed limit in rural areas is lower than it is in the UK. If there are no street lights, the default is 100km/h unless otherwise stated by road signs. That equates to roughly 62 miles per hour. Some roads will have special 110km/h (68 miles per hour) limits, but if in doubt, stick to 100km/h.

50km/h speed limit in Australia

In built-up areas, the speed limit is a smidge higher than in the UK. The standard speed limit, unless signs say otherwise, is 50km/h. That’s around 31 miles per hour.

However, there are, of course, exceptions. Australia works on a federal, state-based system, and each state sets its own speed limits. This could end up as silly as the mess of time zones, but mercifully doesn’t.

130km/h speed limits in Australia: Stuart Highway and Barkly Highway

The key exceptions, largely due to the massive areas of absolutely nothing, are Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Here, the default outside of built-up areas is 110km/h.

Speed limit in Australia is faster on the Nullarbor Plain than elsewhere — The speed limit in Australia varies by state. But let’s just say in outback areas, such as the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor Plain, it isn’t rigidly adhered to. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

However, the Northern Territory has always done things a little differently, and up until 2007, it had no speed limit at all outside of urban areas. That finally got kyboshed, in favour of 130km/h speed limits for the majority of the four key outback highways. These are the Victoria Highway towards Western Australia, the Barkly Highway towards Queensland, plus the two highways most overseas drivers are likely to encounter.

That means you can bomb along at 130km/h for most of the Arnhem Highway from Darwin to Kakadu National Park. The same applies on the Stuart Highway from Darwin to the South Australian border, before switching back to 110km/h for the rest of the journey to Adelaide. Given the enormous size of the Northern Territory, and the mind-numbing tedium of the drive between Alice Springs and Katherine, you’ll be pretty glad about that.

If driving in Australia, it is worth being aware of the drink-drive limits and laws regarding cannabis in the system.