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Applying for an Australian Licence

If your overseas licence ceases to be valid, you may be eligible to apply for an Australian licence.

A person who enters Australia on a permanent visa or who is a permanent resident may drive on their current overseas licence for a maximum of three months after arriving in Australia. If they wish to continue to drive after three months, an Australian issued driver’s licence must be obtained in the state or territory in which the person is residing.

The driving age in Western Australia is 17 years. A learner can drive at the age of 16 under the supervision of a fully licensed driver. After obtaining a licence, a driver continues to be subject to restrictions during a 2-year probationary period.

Learner’s permit

A Learner’s Permit to drive a car in Western Australia can be gained by anyone aged 16 or over after successfully passing a computer-based driving theory test and an eyesight test. Drivers with Learner’s Permits may drive only whilst accompanied by either a qualified driving instructor or a person who has held a valid licence of the same type as the permit for 4 years. Learner drivers must display black-on-yellow “L” plates, and must not drive with a blood alcohol content exceeding 0.00%. Learner’s Permits expire after three years. After a recent bill passed through parliament, Phase 1 drivers are now permitted to drive on Perth freeways as well as other roads outside the boundaries of Kings Park.

Hazard Perception Test

Holders of a Learners Permit for 6 months or more (and are aged 16 years and 6 months or older) are permitted to undergo the computerised “Hazard Perception Test”. Successful drivers are to continue learning and gaining driving experience before attempting their practical driving assessment.

Provisional licence

A Provisional Licence is awarded when learner drivers aged 17 years or over complete 50 hours of driving experience (and 6 months have elapsed from obtaining their Learner’s Permit) in their log book and pass a practical driving test accompanied by an examiner employed by the government. Drivers with provisional licences must display white-on-red ‘P’ plates whenever they drive within the first 6 months, can drive unaccompanied but cannot drive with a blood alcohol content over 0.00%. They are not allowed to drive between 12 am – 5 am unless driving to and from place of work or study.

For last 18 months, provisionally licensed drivers must display white-on-green ‘P’ plates and cannot drive with a blood alcohol content over 0.00%.

Changes to the Learners Permit process

From 9 October 2017, the Department of Transport introduced a change to the process of obtaining a drivers licence. The new process requires applicants to complete the Hazard Perception Test before the Practical Driving Assessment. Applicants still have to have held their Learners Permit for 6 months to attempt either, but are now required to be at least 16 years and 6 months of age for the Hazard Perception Test and at least 17 years of age for the Practical Driving Assessment. The previous process allowed applicants to complete the Practical Driving Assessment at 16 years and 6 months of age, followed by the computerised Hazard Perception Test at 17 years. The minimum age to hold a Provisional Licence is still 17 years.

Graduated demerit points

As of 1 December 2010, the Western Australian Government introduced a new Graduated Demerit Point system for Novice Drivers (which includes L- and P-plate drivers). Under this system, a driver may accrue less than 4 demerit points within the first year of their provisional licence, and less than 8 points within the second year, before losing their licence. These limits include demerit points accrued before these 1- and 2-year periods.

Full driver’s licence

The provisional licence automatically converts into a full driver’s licence after the 2-year probationary period. Drivers with full driver’s licences must drive with a blood alcohol content less than 0.05%, may accrue less than 12 demerit points before being disqualified, and may drive at up to 110 km/h (the maximum speed limit in the state). ‘P’ plate drivers may also drive up to 110 km /h, where permitted by the state.

WA has two classes of drivers licence: C which enables one to drive any vehicle weighing less than 4.5 tonnes C-A which enables one to drive any vehicle fitted with an automatic transmission and weighing less than 4.5 tonnes. Refer