FYI: RTA licence experience (Sydney)
 

Hello,

Here's the other installment of my fascinating morning! First being at:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293247

Pottered down to the licensing office on York Street yesterday to try and get a NSW driving licence. Mr GG was fine, me however ...

He was straight-forward as he's been driving for ten years. Just a case of taking a passport, tenancy agreement and both parts of your British licence along. You fill in a form, they take copies of your ID, get you to read from an eye chart, take a digital photo and voila!, new licence. Takes a while to get through the queueing system (in that particular busy office), but the process itself was smooth and took about 10 minutes once you get to the front. You can choose a licence validity period of either one or three years ($39 for 1 year, $96 for 3 years). Then you get your British licence hole punched and you're on your way.

As I've only been driving for two and a half years, I'm in a bit of a predicament. The rules are that: 'If you have held your driver 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.' This basically means either I go back to being a learner again ( :scared: :scared: ) or I hold out until July, when the three year period is up, and get my licence then. However, to complicate things further, being on a PR visa means that I am only: ' ... allowed to drive or ride in NSW on a current overseas licence for a maximum of three months after arriving in Australia' (calculated from the date stamped in my passport). This means my UK licence is only valid until June, but I can't get an Aus licence until July. Grrrr. Unless I want to be issued a P2 licence and do a driver qualifiaction test (cost $32, in addition to the licence fees). I know that this is all a bit specific, and probably not applicable to lots of people. But your newly-qualified teenage drivers might have something to consider! ;)

Anyway, so that's what I learnt yesterday. It's literally fascinating, init?!

Useful links below:

RTA site:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/

Specific bit about international drivers:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/...l_drivers.html

Hope that helps someone,

GG

Re: FYI: RTA licence experience (Sydney)
 

Damn confusing if you ask me :D

QLD looks easier:
From what I have read, for Queensland, it seem that they must have had a licence since passing the test for the following periods:

Under 23 years of age-for at least three years.
At least 23 years but under 24 years of age-for at least two years.
24 years of age and older-at least one year.

So if you are over 23 and you were in QLD you could get your full licence now :)

However, with the QLD system, I feel confident that holders of a UK full licence, even for just a few weeks, could change over to a QLD full licence immediately.

By referring to the "QLD system" I am not saying the Motor Department don't always know what they are doing :)

I do still wonder why they forgot to ask me to the do the eye test :)

QLD also only have one type of Provisional Licence, and don't need to show P plates on the car. Learners do need L plates though... since the beginning of this year :D