Driving In Australia

sallysaucer

Hi

I'm going campervaning in Oz in April May but whats the story with renting them. I have a full Irish Driving Liscence but my friend only has a provisional so will she be able to share the driving???

Thanks

Sarah

red menace

Provisional Irish License is not accepted outside of Ireland...

D.S.

Just to piggy back on this thread. I am potentially transferring to Austrailia through work. I have a provisional license but not a full one. Is it possible to learn to drive out in Austrailia and earn a full licence there?

daiixi

D.S. wrote: »

Just to piggy back on this thread. I am potentially transferring to Austrailia through work. I have a provisional license but not a full one. Is it possible to learn to drive out in Austrailia and earn a full licence there?

Yes. You will need to sit for a theory test for a learners licence and then, depending where you will be settled, have to sit the practical test. NSW has a provisional system which involves further testing over the following three years and lots of restrictions on hours, speed and number of passengers you can have while on your learners/provisional. I think you must also log 150 hours of driving on your learners in all weather conditions and time of day. You are not allowed to drive on your learners if not accompanied by a fully licenced driver.

Also if you move over to NSW and you have not held a full licence for three years or more you will need to slot into the provisional system there.

I'm not sure on the rules and regulations in other states.

sham08

Also looking to piggyback on this tread, do you need to have a european driving license or will a normal Irish full license do for driving over in Queensland?

Xavi6

I don't see any reason why a full Irish licence wouldn't work in Queensland like it does in every other part of the country.

Provisionals aren't worth a shite.

sham08

I just came accross this on www.migrantproject.ie

'Within the first 3 months of arriving in Australia you should
exchange your Irish Driving Licence for an Australian one. If you do
this within 3 months you will not have to do a test. If you do not do
this within 3 months you may have to take a theory and full test in
order to get an Australian driving licence.'

Has anyone else done this? What happens when you want your Irish driving license back?

whyulittle

Check out the 'Useful Links' sticky.

From my reading of the Victoria Roads website, you can drive on your full Irish licence for the full duration of your WHV. You only need to exchange it if you get a PR.

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Licensing/NewResidentsVisitors/OverseasDriversLicences.htm

brendansmith

sham08 wrote: »

I just came accross this on www.migrantproject.ie

'Within the first 3 months of arriving in Australia you should
exchange your Irish Driving Licence for an Australian one. If you do
this within 3 months you will not have to do a test. If you do not do
this within 3 months you may have to take a theory and full test in
order to get an Australian driving licence.'

Has anyone else done this? What happens when you want your Irish driving license back?

Dont mind that, thats a heap of d!ck.

Irish driving licence is on of the most respected in the world despite looking like sh!t and being paper.
Nobody will have any problem with an Irish driver licence in Australia.
You can get it swopped for an oz licence, which is what i recommend as this fit in your wallet and are plastic and sexy and easily replaceable should they get lost.

Now enough of this nonsense!

The Sweeper

They want you to swap it for an Oz licence quickly because they can't load points on an Irish or English licence if they catch you speeding.

I've been driving about on my full English licence for nearly two years.

brendansmith

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I've been driving about on my full English licence for nearly two years.

I believe the irish licence holds more weight over here tbh.

neon_glows

i have been driving on an Irish provisional for a year now. Been stopped loads of times and even chatted to some cops that used to come into a resteraunt I worked in. All they care about is when they pull you in is that your car has its rwc + rego and that you have some sort of driving license thats printed in English so they can read it. If you never break the law when driving they will never have any reason to question your license any further. Some police that have pulled me in have decided to treat me the same as an australian provisional driver. Though one time i got pulled in i explained that it was my second irish provisional so there for had been driving 3 years which in ozz i think would make you a full licensed driver so they were cool with it. Though everything i have said here take with grain of salt. I blagged my way every time and everything else was in order. On another note a japanese friend same thing he has been driving on a jap license for 3 years. He got pulled over few months ago and got a small fine. The reason he got the fine was his license wasnt in English and didnt have a translation.

mdrizzle

You can just walk into a dmv in any state and get your Irish licence for an Oz one. The Queensland licence is the easiest to get just show Irish full licence, get your picture taken there and then and they print you out a laminated card sized licence, For NSW I had to do a read a eye chart to test my eyesight. You can get a 1 year licence costing around $45 or a 3 year licence costing $90. They let you keep your Irish licence as well.
As for doin the provisional tests over there its a waste of time cos 2 different learner stages ( red P plates and green P plates) takes a long time to get a full licence.

The Sweeper

brendansmith wrote: »

I believe the irish licence holds more weight over here tbh.

...more weight? What does that mean? I don't mean that aggressively, I just genuinely don't understand what that means. Either your licence is valid or it isn't. If it's an Irish or English full licence, it's valid. If you've held a full licence for less than two years, it's hit or miss in Victoria at least whether or not you can exchange for a full Aus licence or a P-plate licence.

neon_glows

I think its like the difference of having an Iraq and Irish drivers license. lol. Some countrys licenses are possib

surfjunkie

what about if an irish provisional license has expired? i have a full license but my boyf's expired 3months ago. he didnt want to chance being pulled over if driving so ive been doing all the driving. campervan - sydney - cairns - inland to adelaide - sydney. im wrecked!!

brendansmith

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

...more weight? What does that mean? I don't mean that aggressively, I just genuinely don't understand what that means. Either your licence is valid or it isn't. If it's an Irish or English full licence, it's valid. If you've held a full licence for less than two years, it's hit or miss in Victoria at least whether or not you can exchange for a full Aus licence or a P-plate licence.

HAHA im only pullin your leg.

brendansmith

surfjunkie wrote: »

what about if an irish provisional license has expired? i have a full license but my boyf's expired 3months ago. he didnt want to chance being pulled over if driving so ive been doing all the driving. campervan - sydney - cairns - inland to adelaide - sydney. im wrecked!!

He should go into every drivers licence place on the way and say its expired can he exchance it for an australian licence.

You never know, dreams can come true.

The Sweeper

I have heard a few stories of Aussie driving centres exchanging Irish provisional licenses for full Australian licenses and not realising the provisional status because they're thrown by the Gaelic aspect of the license..

esharknz

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I have heard a few stories of Aussie driving centres exchanging Irish provisional licenses for full Australian licenses and not realising the provisional status because they're thrown by the Gaelic aspect of the license..

Ditto with a provisional New Zealand license being exchanged for a full QLD license. Don't think they read the licenses at times!