Truck Licences
TMR Driver Licence · HC Class
Heavy Combination (HC) Licence Brisbane
HC truck licence training in Brisbane. Five hours one-on-one, TMR test booked and
paid for you, $1,569 at our Mansfield depot.
- Training since 2014
- TMR test booked and paid for you
- Mansfield depot training
- Open 7 days, 7am–5pm
An HC licence is what puts you behind a semi-trailer. It covers a prime mover, truck or mobile crane over 8
tonnes GVM towing a trailer heavier than 9 tonnes, which is the bulk of linehaul, container, fuel,
livestock and general freight work in and out of Brisbane.
You can apply for it after holding either an MR or an HR licence for 12 months, and there’s no
written knowledge test at this level. Great Heavy Driving School delivers five hours of one-on-one training
at our Mansfield depot and books your Transport and Main Roads practical test on your behalf, test fee
included.
Licence Data
Licence data
HC Class
Heavy Combination Licence: Spec Plate
Licence class
HC Heavy Combination, issued by Transport and Main
Roads
What you get
An upgrade to your existing Queensland driver licence. This
is not a certificate or a ticket.
Prerequisite
An MR or HR licence, open or P class, held for at least 12 months
Training included
5 hours one-on-one behind the wheel
Package price
$1,569, including the $70 mid-week TMR test booking fee
Additional training
$160 per hour if you want more time
Tests required
The TMR practical driving test only. No knowledge test at this level.
Where
Mansfield depot, 359 Wecker Road, Mansfield QLD 4122
Vehicle Classes
What an HC licence lets you drive
An HC licence covers a truck, prime mover or mobile crane over 8 tonnes GVM towing a trailer of
more than 9 tonnes GVM. Everything HR, MR, LR and a car licence already allowed stays included.
The defining number is the trailer, not the truck. Every class below HC caps the trailer at 9 tonnes GVM,
so a rigid truck towing a heavy dog trailer needs an HC even though the truck itself might only be an MR or
HR vehicle. Once the trailer goes past 9 tonnes, the combination is an HC regardless of
what’s pulling it.
Where HC stops is at multiple trailers. A single semi-trailer is HC. A B-double or a road train — two
or more trailers — is MC, which is a separate class with its own pathway.
Typical HC work
- Single semi-trailer linehaul and general freight
- Port and container haulage
- Fuel, bulk and livestock transport
- Rigid trucks towing heavy dog trailers
- Mobile crane and float work
Before You Book
Are you eligible?
There are two ways in, and neither of them requires the other.
From an MR licence
Held for 12 months, open or P class.
From an HR licence
Held for 12 months, open or P class.
An HR licence is not required
Drivers who went straight to MR from a car licence can upgrade to HC without ever sitting an HR test,
which makes MR then HC the shortest route from a car licence to a semi-trailer.
You’ll also need
- Secondary identification
- Fully enclosed footwear for training, boots or runners
- A functional level of English, since all training and assessment is conducted in English
- To declare you’re medically fit to drive the higher class. If you have a medical condition that
could affect your driving, TMR will require a medical certificate from your doctor before you can
upgrade.
No knowledge test, and the five-year rule
There is no written knowledge test for HC. You’ve already sat it on the way to
your MR or HR, so this upgrade is practical only.
The 12 months has to fall within the last five years, and it doesn’t have to be continuous. TMR
will add up separate periods. What it won’t count is any time your licence was suspended,
surrendered, cancelled or expired. If you’ve had a break in your licence history, check with us
before you book so you’re not paying for a test you can’t sit.
The Training
What the training actually covers
HC is the first licence where the skill isn’t really about the truck. You can already drive a heavy
vehicle. What changes is that there’s now an articulation point behind you, and everything you do has
to account for it.
Five hours of one-on-one training at our Mansfield depot covers:
Coupling and uncoupling
Pre-coupling checks, fifth wheel operation, and confirming the connection is secure before the
combination moves. This is where a lot of test marks are won and lost.
Reversing and manoeuvring
Managing trailer swing in confined space, dock reversing and tight turns. It’s the part that
takes most drivers the longest and the part worth spending your extra hours on.
Vehicle control and handling
Braking distances, cornering, and speed management with a loaded combination behind you.
Road positioning and clearances
Turning a combination through Brisbane intersections and roundabouts without cutting the corner or
running wide.
Your obligations as an HC driver
Under Queensland road rules and the Heavy Vehicle National Law, including load restraint, mass limits
and fatigue.
If you need more time, additional hours are $160 each and there’s no pressure to sit the test before
you’re ready.
Read This Before You Test
The gearbox condition still applies
If you already carry an automatic (A) or synchromesh (B) condition from your MR or HR test, it follows you
into HC. If you don’t, the vehicle you sit your HC test in will determine whether one gets added.
Test in an automatic and TMR adds an A condition to your HC class, limiting you to automatic combinations.
Test in a constant-mesh Road Ranger and there’s no gearbox condition at all. Removing a condition
later means sitting another full practical test in an unrestricted vehicle.
Most combination work still runs manual gearboxes, so this is worth a conversation before you book. Tell
us what you’re driving now and what you’re chasing, and we’ll tell you which vehicle you
should be tested in. See TMR’s page on licence classes and conditions for the full detail on conditions like this one.
The Process
How it works
-
1
Confirm you’re eligible and book. Give us a call or book online. We’ll
check that your MR or HR has been held for the full 12 months before you pay for anything.
-
2
Complete your training. Five hours one-on-one with an instructor at our Mansfield
depot, in our combination. No classroom sessions and no knowledge test — you go straight into
the vehicle.
-
3
Sit the practical driving test. We book this for you as part of the Full Package
and the mid-week test booking fee is included in the price. You sit it in a vehicle you’ve
already trained in, which removes a lot of the guesswork.
-
4
Get your licence reissued. Pass and TMR reissues your licence with the HC class
added, authorising you to drive HC vehicles across Queensland and the rest of Australia. The new
card arrives in the post within about 21 days, as a magenta card showing the highest class
you’re authorised to drive.
You don’t receive a certificate, a Statement of Attainment or an
industry wallet card from us for this. An HC licence is a driver licence class, and TMR issues it.
Cost
HC licence cost
$1,569.00
HC Full Package: 5 hours training, TMR booking and test fee included.
Afterpay and Zip payment options accepted.
| Item |
Price |
| HC Full Package (5 hours training, TMR
booking and test fee included) |
$1,569 |
| Additional training |
$160 per hour |
Afterpay and Zip are accepted. Employers routinely pay for HC upgrades because the
licence directly expands what a driver can be rostered onto, so it’s worth asking before you book
it yourself.
Afterpay
Zip
Between Lessons
Practising between lessons
Caution — the penalty is real
If you’re planning to get extra practice in someone else’s combination between lessons,
there are rules and the penalty is real.
While learning to drive a class above your current licence, you must:
- Be accompanied by a supervisor who holds an open licence in that class and has held it for at least a
year
- Display L plates on the front and rear of the vehicle
- Stay on a zero alcohol limit
- Not be under the influence of any drugs, illegal or prescription
- Obey any conditions already on your own licence
Driving unaccompanied while learning a higher class carries 4 demerit points and a $267 fine,
with a maximum court penalty over $3,300.
Working In A Combination
Fatigue compliance once you’re in a combination
An HC licence usually means longer days and longer distances, which puts you squarely inside the Heavy
Vehicle National Law. HVNL fatigue rules apply to vehicles over 12 tonnes GVM, and under standard hours
you’re limited to 12 hours driving in a 24-hour period with a minimum 7 hours continuous rest.
Basic Fatigue Management
accreditation lifts that to 14 hours work in 24 with more flexible rest arrangements, which is why a lot of
linehaul operators require it. It’s a separate one-day course and worth planning alongside the
licence if long-distance work is the goal.
Your Next Step
Where an HC licence leads
The only class above HC is MC — B-doubles and road trains — and it works differently from
every upgrade below it.
- HC to MC after holding your HC for 12 months.
TMR does not conduct practical driving tests for the MC class. Instead you either complete the competency
unit Drive Multi-combination Vehicle (TLIC4006) with an approved multi-combination training provider, or
submit a driving experience declaration if you’ve had regular and substantial MC experience through
your employment, signed off by your employer.
The detail worth knowing: coming from an HC, TLIC4006 takes a minimum of 8 hours. Coming from an
HR, it’s 16. Holding an HC halves the training requirement at the MC stage, so if road
trains are the long-term plan, HC is not a step you want to skip.
From The Yard
What HC licence holders say
“Great Heavy Driving is amazing!! I had Nav and she was incredible. Great lesson before my test,
very knowledgeable, helped me a lot and great had conversations. Always nice to be around such
beautiful and kind humans. Highly recommend 10/10 🙏🏽”
HC Licence FAQs
Frequently asked questions
You must hold a current Medium Rigid (MR) or Heavy Rigid (HR) licence, open or P class, and have
held it for at least 12 months.
No. An HR is not a prerequisite. TMR allows an upgrade to HC from either an MR or an HR, so drivers
who went straight from a car licence to an MR can move to HC after 12 months without ever sitting
an HR test.
No. The written road rules test is only required when you upgrade from a car licence, which
you’ve already done to reach MR or HR. The HC upgrade is a practical driving test only.
Yes. The mid-week practical driving test booking fee of $70 is included in the Full Package price.
The Full Package includes 5 hours. Additional training is available at $160 per hour if you want
more time behind the wheel, and your instructor will give you an honest assessment of your
readiness before you sit the test.
Safe operation of the combination under normal traffic conditions, plus the tasks specific to this
class: coupling and uncoupling, reversing and manoeuvring with trailer swing, road positioning and
clearances. Coupling procedure and reversing are where most of the difficulty sits.
No. An HC is a driver licence class that TMR adds to your existing licence. There’s no
Statement of Attainment and no wallet card. Our plant courses like forklift and excavator work differently.
You need to have held your HC for 12 months, then either complete the competency unit TLIC4006
with an approved multi-combination training provider — a minimum of 8 hours coming from an HC
— or lodge a driving experience declaration if you’ve had regular and substantial MC
experience at work. TMR does not conduct practical driving tests for the MC class.
Find Us
HC Licence Training in Brisbane
Get Licensed
Book your HC licence in Brisbane
Five hours one-on-one in the combination, your TMR test booked and paid for, and an
instructor who’ll tell you straight when you’re ready.
Mansfield depot · 359 Wecker Road, Mansfield QLD 4122 · Open
Mon–Sun 7:00am–5:00pm