SYDNEY: Australia is set to overhaul its process for converting overseas car and motorcycle licences, with significant changes taking effect from today.
The Experienced Driver Recognition (EDR) scheme, which allows some foreign licence holders to get an Australian licence without additional testing, is being discontinued in most states and territories from today.
Western Australia will extend the deadline to Oct 31, while Queensland's implementation is pending legislative approval.
Malaysians residing in Australia are not affected by these reforms.
The EDR scheme covers drivers from 16 countries and jurisdictions, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, South Korea, Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa and Taiwan.
These individuals have been able to convert their licences based on age and driving experience, bypassing the need for theory or practical tests.
With the scheme's termination, affected drivers will need to apply for an Australian licence before the respective deadlines to avoid undergoing additional assessments.
Austroads, the organisation overseeing driver licensing policies, has urged countries currently under the EDR scheme to apply for Recognised Country status.
This status is granted to countries whose driver training and assessment standards are deemed equivalent to Australia's, allowing their licence holders to convert to an Australian licence without further testing.
Countries granted this status will undergo a reassessment every five years to ensure continued compliance with Australian standards.
These changes stem from a comprehensive review of Australia's overseas driver licensing policy, which identified challenges such as identity verification issues, increased instances of document fraud, and the need for consistent licensing standards.
The review recommended stricter verification processes and a more uniform approach to assessing the equivalence of foreign licensing systems.
These changes do not affect temporary visitors to Australia, who may continue to drive using their valid overseas licences, provided they obey the conditions of those licences.
Overseas licence holders living in Australia have been advised to contact their respective state or territory licensing authorities promptly to understand the new requirements and start the conversion process if necessary.
