Roads

GUIDEGold Coast

Gold Coast Speed and Red Light Cameras: 30 Fixed, Combined and Point-to-Point Sites on the Queensland Government’s List, October 2026 (Gold Coast, QLD)

The Gold Coast Highway Bridge crossing the Nerang River at Southport (photographed in January 2017)

The Queensland Government’s list of fixed speed and red light cameras names 30 Gold Coast sites: two fixed speed cameras on the Gold Coast Highway, eight combined red light and speed cameras, 14 red light cameras and six point-to-point sections on the M1 Pacific Motorway. Mobile speed cameras are a separate group and can be anywhere, so the list below is the fixed part of the picture only.

GUIDEGold Coast

Driving on the Gold Coast With an Overseas Licence: Visitors Can Drive a Valid Licence in Queensland, but Residents Must Switch to a Queensland Licence After 3 Months (QLD)

Surfers Paradise Boulevard near Cypress Avenue in June 2026, with a left-turn arrow marked on the road and a red tram-only lane

Yes: if you are visiting Queensland, you can drive on the Gold Coast under a valid interstate or overseas driving authority, as long as you drive only the class of vehicle it authorises and follow its conditions.

GUIDEGold Coast

Queensland Mobile Phone and Seatbelt Cameras: $1,295 and 4 Demerit Points, Operating Anywhere, Anytime, Including on the Gold Coast (QLD)

The Pacific Motorway southbound at the exit to the Smith Street Motorway (photographed in 2018)

In Queensland, holding a mobile phone in your hand or resting it on any part of your body while you drive is illegal, and the penalty is $1,295 and 4 demerit points. A driver who does not wear a seatbelt properly faces the same $1,295 and 4 points, and cameras now check for both offences anywhere on Queensland roads, at any time.

GUIDEHelensvale

M1 Pacific Motorway on the Gold Coast, October 2026: No Long-Running Roadworks Listed on the M1, but the Smith Street Off Ramp Is Closed to Early 2027 (Gold Coast, QLD)

The Smith Street Motorway eastbound at the exit to Olsen Avenue (photographed in 2018)

On 18 October 2026, the Queensland Government’s QLDTraffic feed listed no roadworks on the M1 Pacific Motorway itself on the Gold Coast, so there are no long-running M1 works to plan around. The long-running works are on roads that connect to it: the eastbound access ramp to Smith Street from the Smith Street Motorway at Arundel is closed to all traffic until early 2027, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) lists the M1’s next interchange projects as planning or design.

PARKING GUIDEGold Coast

Gold Coast Parking Fine: Pay Within 28 Days, or Ask for a Review Before You Pay or the Due Date Passes (City of Gold Coast, QLD)

A parking ticket machine in Kings Park Road, West Perth (photographed in 2023, not on the Gold Coast)

A City of Gold Coast parking fine must be paid within 28 days of the date it was issued. You can ask the City to review a fine only before you pay it and before the payment due date, so the order matters: if you think the fine was a mistake, ask for the review first and pay afterwards, if the City upholds it.

GUIDEGold Coast

Queensland School Zones on the Gold Coast: 40km/h Is the Usual Limit, 7–9am and 2–4pm Are the Standard Times, and the Sign Decides (Gold Coast, QLD)

School zone warning road markings in Queensland, 2023 (photographed in Queensland, not necessarily on the Gold Coast)

The usual Queensland school zone speed limit is 40km/h, and most school zones apply from 7am to 9am and from 2pm to 4pm on school days. The times for each school are on the school zone sign, so on the Gold Coast, as elsewhere in Queensland, the sign beside the road is what counts.

GUIDEHelensvale · Coomera

Coomera Connector (M9) Status, October 2026: Stage 1 North Is Open, Central and South Are Under Construction, Stage 2 Is in Design (Gold Coast, QLD)

Sign for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector on Nerang-Broadbeach Road, June 2026

Only one section of the Coomera Connector is open to traffic so far: Stage 1 North, the 4km between Shipper Drive at Coomera and Helensvale Road at Helensvale, which opened in December 2025. The other two Stage 1 sections, Central (Helensvale Road to the Smith Street Motorway) and South (Smith Street Motorway to Nerang-Broadbeach Road), are under construction, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) pages give no opening date for either.

CLOSURES · UNTIL 7 NOVSurfers Paradise

Cavill Avenue, Gold Coast Highway and Surfers Paradise Boulevard Closed Monday to Wednesday Nights Until 7 November (Surfers Paradise, QLD)

Cavill Avenue pedestrian mall in Surfers Paradise looking west

Cavill Avenue, the Gold Coast Highway and Surfers Paradise Boulevard are fully closed in Surfers Paradise on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, from Monday 12 October at 8:00pm until 5:00am on Saturday 7 November. Only local traffic can get in, and the City of Gold Coast says the work is utilities work.