Thousands to be impacted by major Australian licence change

A new change to Australia’s road rules has just come into effect, threatening the licences of thousands of people across the country.

Permanent residents from multiple countries have been told they will no longer be able to use their foreign driver or rider licences to obtain the equivalent Australian licence.

The Experienced Driver Recognition (EDR) status has allowed people from certain nations to skip retaking a driving test after moving to Australia if they have already passed the test in their country of origin.

The EDR has been phased out from Wednesday in all states and territories except New South Wales and Western Australia — where it will end on October 31 — and Queensland, where it ends in mid-2025.

Austroads said the changes reflect the development of training and road safety in Australia.

“The scheme was put in place over 20 years ago and licence training and testing have significantly changed over that period,” it said.

“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.”

International drivers from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Republic of Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa and Taiwan will now be required to take Australian driving tests to receive a valid licence.

These changes do not apply to temporary visitors to Australia, who will still be able to drive with a valid overseas licence.

The phasing out of the EDR does not affect the Recognition Status scheme covering drivers from other countries including the US and UK.

“After April 30, 2025, people who wish to apply for an Australian licence and who hold a licence issued by a country that does not hold a Recognition Status will likely need to complete additional training and testing before being granted an Australian licence,” Austroads said.

“If you are 25 years of age or older and miss the deadline for exchanging your licence issued by a country or jurisdiction on the Experienced Driver Recognition list, it is likely that you will have to undertake further training and testing before you can be issued with an Australian licence.”