Driving in Australia

nidhona3

Hi guys,

I'm planning a trip to Oz sometime in the coming months. I'm learning how to drive at the moment in ireland, hope to have my full licence by the end of May. With the possibility of heading of to oz from July onwards.
My query is this...do you need to have your full drivers licence a certain length of time before you're legally able to drive in Australia...do I need a licence for "X" amount of years before hitting their highways and byways.

Same questions applied for New Zealand actually aswell coz i've my sights set on there aswell.

Anyone have any answers for me?

Kind Regards,

nidhona3

deemy

Hi ya. Both me and b/f were on provisional licences while we were out there although this was 8/9 years ago. We managed to buy and insure(comes as standard anyway) a car and travel from perth accross nullarbor to Melbourne and up as far as Port douglas on provisional. We got 2/3 speeding fines along the way and were stopped once going accross the nullarbor by cops for same. They looked at b/f licence but said nothing. I thnk we were very very lucky to get away with it. But it was mad that we were never caught and fined or even sent home. So anyway I dont know why I replied cause i havn't even answered ur question.
If my memory serves me right I think u are allowed to drive for up to 3 months on ur licence but I dont think they are very strict on this if you are only a backpacker.
I think you will be fine with the amount of time you have licence as our system is way different to theres. U might come up against it if you are renting a car as some companies require at least 2 years on full before they would allow you. but for buying I would say you would be fine.
I'm sure one of the aussie lads will help you out with ur questions cause I dont think I have been any help.

Xavi6

A full Irish licence is perfectly fine for driving around Australia while on holida, and there's no restriction on how long you have to have had one for.

Don't be an idiot and drive on a provisional because it's not worth the hassle if you get caught. With the amount of booze buses that are around the cities these days there's a strong possibility you will get pulled over at some point, even if it's only to show your licence.

Make sure you pass your test at home and you'll have no hassles.

I *think* you have 6 months before you need to apply for an Australian licence, and even then it's just a case of presenting it at a licencing centre.

hussey

There is a restriction actually, (well in NSW anyway)

If you are in Oz longer than 6(it could even be 3) months you cannot drive on your irish licence, must apply for aussie one or get fined.

A friend of mine got fined $200 for being in oz 8 months using an Irish licence

now in fairness maybe it was just the copper having a bad day that he gave her a fine, but from then on in - how long have you been driving for in Aus?
"err, 2 months sir"

The Sweeper

Yep in Victoria on a temporary visa you can drive indefinitely on a full overseas license provided that license is in English.

In Vic on a permanent visa, you have three months before you need to apply for a Vic drivers license.

Provisional license = not the go.

missannik

deemy wrote: »

We managed to buy and insure(comes as standard anyway) a car...

Can I just comment that the insurance added only covers medical treatment if you are injured or if you injure someone else in a car accident.

topcelt

if we are going to be technical about this, and lets face it the law is very technical what you need is an international drivers licence. most of the time any full licence in English will be accepted but cops do have bad days.
to get a international licence you have to have held full licence for at least the previous 12 months. go to the aa cost me 5 quid but that was 6 years ago and it lasts 1 year.
oz and nz are the same if you are on a visa that allows you to stay longer than 12 months you must get a local licence
not 100% sure about oz but in nz if you have a full licence you just have to do a theory test to get nz equivalent
i got stopped by cops for not wearing seat belt, i had been in the country 13 months and only had Irish licence but had only gotten a visa extension 2 months before and managed to talk my way out of but was told if stopped again with Irish licence i would face a several hundred $ fine
hope this helps and enjoy your trip

esharknz

topcelt wrote: »

if we are going to be technical about this, and lets face it the law is very technical what you need is an international drivers licence. most of the time any full licence in English will be accepted but cops do have bad days.
to get a international licence you have to have held full licence for at least the previous 12 months. go to the aa cost me 5 quid but that was 6 years ago and it lasts 1 year.
oz and nz are the same if you are on a visa that allows you to stay longer than 12 months you must get a local licence
not 100% sure about oz but in nz if you have a full licence you just have to do a theory test to get nz equivalent

In New Zealand (now) with an Irish license, you can actually just swap it (as of October 2008) without having to do the theory test. Lucky things. I'm stuck here in Ireland having to go through the ENTIRE process despite having a full New Zealand license. Supposed to be changing this, but who knows how long this will take.

DamoDLK

Hi all

I am about to depart for oz soon, and was hoping to actually purchase a car down there pretty quickly. is there much hassle with registration plates, insurance or even motor tax issues which need to be understood?
any help, as usual, most appreciated.
D

The Sweeper

Victoria:

All cars must have a roadworthy certificate when they change hands. You may find that people will sell on cheap bangers with no RWC with the understanding that you, the buyer, will fund the RWC yourself - e.g. a care for $1,500 needs $1,000 of work done to it to get the RWC, and you the buyer will have to shell out the $1,000 yourself.

Vehicle registration tax, or Rego, is compulsory on all cars. It usually lasts 12 months from date of issue. It costs around $500 for the year. Rego includes a certain level of very basic insurance, but in my opinion you'd be foolish to drive without other insurance - the list of what rego covers is miniscule compared to the list of what it doesn't cover.

Ozeire

Take a look here

Overseas-drivers-licences

might help a bit

myhorse

Not sure about the whole temp visa vs permanent but If you are bringing a full irish license to Australia and want to change to an Aus one you need to check the rules for the state you are going to.
Each state varies on what they require.
In NSW it depends how long you have your irish one for. i.e
If you have held your driver or rider licence for less than 12 months, you will be issued a NSW provisional P1 licence. If you have held your driver licence for more than 12 months but less than three years, a provisional P2 licence will be issued. If you have held your drivers licence for more than three years, you will be issued with a NSW unrestricted licence.
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/newtonsw/international_drivers.html

esharknz

Anyone know how long it takes after submitting your application for a drivers license (in particular, in queensland) to when you actually receive it?

I have to swap my license within 3 months of arriving in Australia (I can stay permanently), but was wondering how long I'll be without a drivers license for, as I'm assuming they'll take it off of me.

myhorse

esharknz wrote: »

Anyone know how long it takes after submitting your application for a drivers license (in particular, in queensland) to when you actually receive it?

I have to swap my license within 3 months of arriving in Australia (I can stay permanently), but was wondering how long I'll be without a drivers license for, as I'm assuming they'll take it off of me.

For NSW when I did mine years ago I got it there and then. They took my piccy and disappeared for ten minutes (I presume for the female workers to drool over it) and then presented me with my new one. Irish one got a hole punched through it and off I went. I only wanted it for ID purposes (tip for anyone traveling, get one even if not planning on driving as its great for ID)

FreeAnd..

Anyone know how long it takes after submitting your application for a drivers license (in particular, in queensland) to when you actually receive it?

I have to swap my license within 3 months of arriving in Australia (I can stay permanently), but was wondering how long I'll be without a drivers license for, as I'm assuming they'll take it off of m

imagine a system so completely the reverse of anything like Ireland....My experiecene was this - go in, fill in form, take ticket, wait 5 mins, hand in licence, get photo taken, wait two minutes - Bang...New QLD licence...there and then and fits snuggly in the wallet...

I think you have 12 months before you need to change it over although i remember the 3 months limit (because after that you are no longer on holiday)...I would reccomend getting one straight away anyway, pubs and clubs are a nightmare for id here no matter what age you are and the QLD Drivers licence is far better than Irish or Passport for carrying around (plus everyone laughs at the Irish and alot dont accept)

writetojd

Just got mine in W.A. Went into the centre with a bank statement with my address, passport and Irish licence. Took 15mins tops to process. Was told it would be posted to me in3-5 days. Only stinker is I was 2 weeks short of having my full licence 2 years so gotta display P plates for 2 weeks if I'm driving.
Overall such a quick efficient system. In and out in no time.

sonic.trip

I was wondering about this myself, so basically in Australia your full Irish driving licence will be fine and do you for 12months in Victoria and 3-6 in WA and varies in other terrotories?

It might be sensible also getting the international licence? I got one about two years ago for the states to save any hassle if I was stopped and think it was 5 quid.

Might be the easiest carrying the two around then, at least it looks like you made an effort if you get stopped along your journeys.

ballooba

nidhona3 wrote: »

I'm planning a trip to Oz sometime in the coming months. I'm learning how to drive at the moment in ireland, hope to have my full licence by the end of May. With the possibility of heading of to oz from July onwards.

Legally you will most likely be subject to the conditions of a P1 license depending on which state you are in. This may not cause you any problems unless something goes wrong but be aware that legally that is the situation.

ballooba

esharknz wrote: »

I'm stuck here in Ireland having to go through the ENTIRE process despite having a full New Zealand license.

Can you swap to a UK license or other that will allow you swap again for an Irish license?