cooperman

Can anybody tell me if you need too take another driving test when you live in Brisbane?Moving from England with a 20 years full licence,car and motorcycle.Will my licence cover me in Oz on a permanent basis or will I need a practical or theory test??

moneypenny20

You will need to take the theory test within three months of moving there. Other states have now changed the rules so you don't even need to do the theory but Queensland haven't. If you fail - only a couple of questions will fail you, you can take it again and again until you pass. No booking, you can go back the next day if need be.

alkristensen

best thing to get is a driving rules book from most newsagents or queensland transport in brissie. Swat up for a few days before you go in. There are loads of little differences but the majority the same, and things like how much alcohol you are allowed in your system at a certain age etc.Things you wouldnt know even in this country, so swatting up is best.

The test costs about 5-10 quid and tyou get a licence for up to five years, and then have to renew when expires. The costs were about 40 quid for 5 years.

Just go through the book and write down the things you didnt know and then remember those as the rest is common sense.

One rule that people fail on when they havent studied that if you remember will help so much. After i failed the first time(hadnt bought book and thought i can wing it) i got a taaxi back, and the driver told me "ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO THE RIGHT IN ALL CASES" there are lots of give way questions on the test so be careful.

Alk

cooperman

Many thanks for your reply,Looking forward even more to going now cooperman

BESWETAJ

Don't forget that although you have to taken a written test you also need to take a full driving test. If you take the driving test and fail it you can no longer drive on your international licence - you will be unable to drive until you re-take the aussie driving test and pass it - trust me - I speak from experience !!! Driving in the UK for 20 years and then having to re-take my test in Aus was an experience I shall never forget, yeah passed the written first time but not the driving which meant I was literally "stuck" until I re-took it and passed it.

The Poet

Pollyana

Talking Qld - don't know about other states - are you sure thats correct? I thought it was only the written test??

MrsDagboy

Dont know where you took your test, but in Qld you only have to take a theory test, not do a practical.

The other thing to consider is what visa you are on, if its PR then you have 3 months to do the practical & change over, howvever if you are on a temp visa (ie 457 etc) then you can continue driving on your UK licence.

kango_jack

We only took the theory test when we came out - felt like a long slog to get through took me 2 attempt and Paul 3. The 3 months disappear fast so I recommend you get onto it as soon as you can. Like others have said you only have to get very few wrong, from memory the test is split into two and you can't get more than one wrong in each section - although more than 2 years since I took it and had another baby since
We found the give way rules a nightmare, underlying rule is give way to the right but you should see the combinations they come up with....
NSW does not require any test, my sister has just moved there and was all ready to do the test when they told her she didn't need too.
Annie

soapy©

cant u do the theory test on the web like they have in nsw?
well u can practice it, then when uv bored yourself sill, take the test for real.

alkristensen

queensland defo not a driving test unless you are a learner or cant produce your evidence of a driving licence existance in the last 5 yrs. I had my licence revoked in the uk for medical reasons( loss of bit of sight in right eye from brain ops) and they said that if i could prove that idhad a licence in the last 5 years then i was entitled to a licence, but i still had to go to optometrist, who s decision is final on driving matter(eyes related anyway) and i could argue my case to the optometrist, and he said i passed it as i had shown awareness of my condition and the fact ive ridden motorbikes for 12 years made me "more aware" than most drivers as i am constantly looking for things that can knock me off!

Evenif you have certain med conditions you can get a "daytime only" licence as well as others too.

Overall QLD transport were fantastic and easy to deal with and very very helpful, unlike DVLA who are faceless and take ages after masses of forms to ge tback to you.

alk

A dogs life

I don't know where that poster got the idea you had to do a practical... Nope just a theory based on a book called 'your keys to driving in Queensland'.

And if you want to save a few bucks and not buy it... here is it!!!

http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/L...drive_yourkeys

My own personal advice is to concentrate on the 'give way' rules. And also all the distances, like how far you can park for a zebra crossing, or a train line, or a school etc.. All the rest of the stuff is common sense if you've been driving for ages.

ADL

Ceri

It's Just a theory here in QLD for you ( like has been said you don't need to get one if you're on a temp visa, but if your on a Pr visa yes )

If you go over three months, you can still take the theory test only - I was drivng for years on a PR visa (shouldn't have been of course " as it's not legal" to do so - ooh slap on the wrist lol ) and no Qld licence. I took the test years after I was PR.

Don't worry about it, most of it is sheer common sense.

It is easy so don't worry about it. The questions are basic common sense ( and whatever some people like to say, the basic give-way rules in Qld are not much different here to the UK, they just word them different making them sound a bit odd) - you may need to read up on the parking distances, special lanes etc and that's about it .

I did not swot up and passed no prob first time ( mind you I had been driving here for years before I did my test).
I opened the rules book for a two minute look before the test just for the parking distances ( and didn't get them in my test after all - so there was no need for me to have even looked at that - but definitely look at those, as you may get them in your set of questions you're given).
I had one question wrong - the alcohol limit ( I ticked the lowest amount, it was higher - stupid marking me wrong on that one , I could have drank more lol)

Some People are not going to like what I say, but to be honest if they can't pass the theory here after years of driving on the roads in Britain or even SE Asia , it makes me wonder how they passed a test in the first place- it's basic road rules/common sense. A trained chimpanzee could pass it.

Motorbike - there are few extra questions you are given, which are easy too (hubby had the bike ones , as he drives a motorbike too. But I ( a non motorcyclist licensee) could have answered them too - they were dead easy too.

If you fail first time ( like my hubby did and I won't let him forget it lol - he zoomed through his questions and did not read them properly - Tip read through them carefully and don't rush through them, it's not a race ), you can re take your test 24 hrs later, and if you fail again, you can do the same , re take, re take until you pass.

cheers , good luck with it- and now I'm going to duck with my trained chipanzee Pity the chimp can't spell though lol - edited for some spelliing mistakes lol


P.s the other poster who said it was a practical as well may have taken their test a few years ago - As it was a practical and a theory here in Qld until very recently - just a few years ago ( can't remember how many years ago but it was something like around four, maybe five yrs ago - I was living here when you had to take the practical as well as the theory. It was one of the reasons why I didn't go and get my Qld licence at the time - as I thought bl**dy nerve of them testing Brits lol when they drive so cr*p here! And I continued to ( illegally)drive on my Brit licence until recently when I done the aussie obey the rules thing and I went all legal for once lol- the theory only is a very recent change in the rules for us Brit licence holders.

kango_jack

I wouldn't agree on it being that easy, I had been driving for 10 years + in the UK, but there again I never took a theory test there as they were brought in afterwards.
Its up to you at the end of the day but I certainly read up before both tests - obviously my intelligence level must be really poor....
You can take the test after the three months but you take a real risk being stopped by the police and as I understand it your insurance is not valid - also it is really useful for ID purposes.
Annie