
The answer to this question is entirely dependant on the size of the tipper truck that you wish to drive and where you want to drive it.
The shortest answer is that anything under 4.5 tonnes GVM can be operated on a C class license. Anything over 4.5 tonnes GVM will require a heavy vehicle license.
It can be difficult to assess what licence will be needed for each different vehicle. So for the sake of convenience, we have broken down the weights and license requirements into this convenient table for you.

Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM)
The standard definition for Gross Vehicle Mass in terms of Australian licensing legislation is
"The total mass of the vehicle including the weight of the vehicle plus passengers, cargo, accessories, fluids and any additional equipment loaded onto the vehicle"
This is an important consideration when deciding what type of licensing and tipper that you will require. The GVM is the maximum safe load that a vehicle can carry according to the rating of suspension, brakes, tyres and engine.
As an example THIS TIPPER has a maximum load capacity of 6 tonnes and a GVM rating of 11 tonnes and requires an MR license to drive.
Exceeding the GVM is not only dangerous for yourself and others on the road but a crime punishable by law. Typically it is advised to ensure that the vehicle is not loaded past 90%-95% of the GVM rating due to the likelihood of an accident or vehicular failure to occur.
For some hillarious and often terrifying examples of what happens when these restrictions are ignored. I would suggest typing "overloaded trucks" into YouTube.
License Requirement Type
Pretty self-explanatory. The license requirement type is the license that will be required to operate the vehicle in that category.
These days it is considered a serious offence to operate a heavy vehicle on the road without the required license and the punishment can be very harsh including fines and up to jail time for repeat offences.
Further Requirements
This column is the pre-requisite requirements needed for each category of license.
For instance. If I wanted to obtain a HR license, then I would need to hold a C class license for two years and also either a LR or a MR for one year.
That would mean that first I would have to hold a C class license for one year then acquire either a LR or MR license and hold that for one year as well as the C class for a further year.
Then after that I could apply for a HR license.
Not on the chart
Obviously if it were that easy to get a heavy vehicle license, we'd all be casually driving around in a prime mover. So, it goes without saying that there are more requirements for each category of license.
Depending on the license type there are practical tests and theoretical tests that must be passed as well as mandatory training that must be completed.
For a full list of these requirements in the Northern Territroy, please follow the below link
So to answer the question "what do I need to drive a tipper truck in Darwin and the Northern Territory?"
It depends on what tipper you want to drive.
If you need any information on our range of tipper trucks and the required licence requirements then please feel free to call and talk to our team.
We offer a range of quality tipper trucks for hire that you can find by following the link below.
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