New changes to overseas licence conversion

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From today, the process for converting an international driver's licence to an Australian one is changing.

Previously, many overseas drivers were allowed to drive in Australia under what's called the "Experienced Driver Recognition" status. But that scheme officially ended today across all states and territories — except for Western Australia and Queensland. So if you're in those two places, nothing changes just yet.

For everyone else, the new rules mean that whether or not you need to take extra driving tests now depends on where your licence was issued.

If you're from one of these countries — Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, South Korea, Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, or Taiwan — you'll now need to do some additional testing before you can get your Australian licence.

On the flip side, if your licence is from one of these countries — Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man (from 1 April 1991), Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Malta (from 2 January 2004), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, or the USA — you’re in luck. You won’t need to take any extra tests to switch over to an Australian licence. These countries have what's called federal Recognition Status.

Also worth noting: if you’re just visiting and planning to stay less than six months, you can usually drive using your existing international licence — no need to convert it in most states.

And there's one more change — applying for a motorcycle licence is now a separate process from applying for a car licence.

Finally, even if you have Recognition Status, you'll now be reassessed every five years to make sure you're still meeting Australia’s road safety standards.

Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.