Limousine and special purpose limousine licences

As a result of changes made as part of Queensland’s Personalised Transport Horizon—stage 2 implementation, no new limousine licences will be issued.

All existing licences, except for special purpose limousine (SPL) licences, may still be leased and transferred.  

As outlined in Queensland's Personalised Transport Horizon—stage 2 implementation, SPL licences will be phased out over the next 3 years.

SPL licences that have expired for 3 months or more will expire permanently.

Information for limousine and SPL drivers

• May display distinctive number plates
• Can access priority lanes under the Queensland Road Rules
• Have an exemption under the Liquor Act 1992 to allow the service of alcohol
• Standing areas can still be agreed between a limousine operator and the owner of infrastructure, e.g. the owner of a hotel, but are no longer regulated by the Queensland Government

Vehicles

• Only licensed limousines and SPLs can advertise as a limousine service
• Limousines and SPLs may have any number of seats in the vehicle (taxis and ride-booking vehicles are limited to 12 seats, including the driver)

Vehicle restrictions have been simplified for limousines and SPLs, and the luxury car tax threshold has been removed.

Replacement Vehicles

Where a person had a vehicle on a limousine licence prior to 1 October the previous vehicle restrictions applied. However if they subsequently replaced the vehicle on the licence from 1 October 2017 onwards, the replacement vehicle must comply with the following new requirements:

• be a passenger vehicle, and
• have a wheelbase of at least 2.8m, or
• be at least 30 years old.

Vehicles used to provide limousine services must have the correct purpose of use (POU), compulsory third party (CTP) insurance and number plates.

Licence type	Vehicle type	POU	CTP*	Plates
Limousine	Passenger vehicle	Limousine	Class 26	Limousine (L + 5 digits)
Limousine	Minibus with 9 or more seats (includes stretch limousines)	Limousine	Class 10A or 11	Limousine (L + 5 digits)
Special purpose limousine	Passenger vehicle	Special purpose limousine	Class 26	SPL (SL + 2 letters + 2 numbers)
Special purpose limousine	Minibus with 9 or more seats (includes stretch limousines)	Special purpose limousine	Class 10A or 11	SPL (SL + 2 numbers + 2 letters)

* Vehicles may have CTP insurance for a class of motor vehicle that attracts a higher premium.

Operators must select the correct CTP insurance class for the service they are providing, or the vehicle they are using.

The following CTP classes apply to limousines:

• Class 10A or 11—minibuses and omnibuses (9 or more seats), which includes stretched limousines
• Class 26—limousines that are cars and station wagons.

Organisations

Standing areas can still be agreed between a limousine operator and the owner of infrastructure, e.g. the owner of a hotel, but are no longer regulated by the Queensland Government.

Disclosure of limousine licence values

The Department of Transport and Main Roads publishes Queensland's limousine and taxi service licence values on the Queensland Government Data Portal. This includes licence type, transfer values and locations for the period 2009-2018.

View Limousine and taxi service licence values—Queensland

The identity of any person associated with the sale of licences is not disclosed.