Drivers License Change of Rules in Australia
Drivers License Change of Rules in Australia — Who Will Be Affected!
The changes will affect those residents who are looking to convert their overseas drivers licenses to Australian drivers licenses. The changes that are coming into place will mainly impact this cohort of people.
Austroads, the body which manages international licences for Australia’s states and territories, announced earlier this week that these driver’s license change of Rules in Australia for the conversion process would change from next year.
“The new arrangements will provide for more streamlined conversion of licences from certain countries, in some cases, without any additional testing requirements“, stated Austroads on their website recently.
“The new process has been designed with strengthened assessment criteria, greater clarity regarding mandatory requirements and a focus on a Safe System approach”, said Geoff Allan, Austroads Chief Executive.
The new process has been designed with strengthened assessment criteria, greater clarity regarding mandatory requirements and a focus on a Safe System approach
“Additionally, given the growing reliance on a licence as proof of identify, as well as the rise in identity theft and document fraud, the changes will introduce a mechanism for applicant countries to confirm the validity and currency of their licences”, said Geoff.
How Does the Current Process Work?
Covering car and motorcycle licences, the current scheme provides for more streamlined conversion of licences from certain countries to Australian licences, in some cases without any additional testing requirements. In addition, it allows visitors to drive on their overseas licences for a certain period of time.
Currently, Austroads manages two distinct administrative arrangements under its Recognised Country Scheme.
Certain countries are assessed as having a driver training and assessment system similar or equivalent to that which is in place in Australia. Individual applicants from those countries are exempt from undertaking a knowledge and drive/ride test when applying for an Australian car or motorcycle licence.
Countries which did not meet all the licence testing requirements are considered for Experienced Driver Recognition status.
The experienced driver recognition category aims to recognise a person’s driving experience and age as a substitute for licensing measures aimed at novice drivers. Holders of overseas licences issued by countries in this category, who are over the age of 25, may be issued a comparable Australian licence without further training or assessment.
What is Changing with these Drivers License Change of Rules
The following arrangements for the transfer of overseas car and motorcycle licenses will be changing.
Experienced Driver Recognition status
Experienced Driver Recognition status will cease on 30 April 2025. For operational reasons, some jurisdictions may take longer to implement these changes. Overseas licence holders will be asked to confirm arrangements with their local licensing agency.
Countries currently in this category will be requested (by Australia) to apply for the Recognised Country status. After Austroads notifies these countries, they will have six months for licence holders issued by those countries; who are also currently residing in Australia, to apply to change over to an Australian licence. After this period, this scheme will no longer be available.
Recognised Country status
Arrangements for changing over to an Australian licence from another countries’ licence will remain unchanged until the completion of reassessment against the revised criteria. There is now a separation of applications for recognition of car and motorcycle licensing.
Countries which currently hold Recognised Country status will be notified about the changes to the scheme and invited to apply. From the moment of notification, they will have 12 months to submit a new application. Existing arrangements for recognised countries will continue while their applications are being processed.
Under the drivers license change of rules; countries which are granted new or continuing Recognised Country status will be reassessed every five years to ensure they continue to meet required licensing standards for inclusion in the scheme.
Why are these Changes Occurring?
The scheme was put in place over 20 years ago, and licence training and testing have significantly changed over that period. The new scheme has been revised to reflect the changes in Australia’s car and motorcycle licensing systems, which were designed to improve road safety.
If you require any assistance with undertaking a traffic offender’s program due to loss of license or learning more about drivers license change of rules; please do not hesitate to contact us here.
Ref: Austroads, (2024, October 21), “Revised arrangements for transition of overseas car and motorcycle licences to Australian licences“. https://austroads.com.au/drivers-and-vehicles/overseas-drivers/overseas-driver-licensing-policy-review
Drivers License Change of Rules
