From July 1, Indian and Nepali driving license holders along with other selected countries will not be able to drive in New South Wales for more than six months without sitting in a proper driver’s test.
Till now, drivers on overseas license be that temporary or student visa holders used their foreign driver’s licence despite accruing 13 demerit points over a three-year period.
In a long overdue change drivers from countries like India , Nepal and China will now need to take the same knowledge and practical test as New South Wales locals.
Another significant change is that if a driver with an overseas license will exceed the 13 demerit point allocation, they will lose their ability to drive in Australia immediately if they hit that limit. However, at the movement, nothing is stopping them from continuing to drive after finishing their disqualification period.
Speaking to CarExpert, one highway patrol officer said “We will sometimes be given a piece of paper that a driver claims to be their licence. We have no idea if this is real…it’s even impossible to tell who the person is on the document at times.
“He system is absolutely flawed when it comes to foreign drivers from these countries,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.”
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, around 2000 foreign drivers have had their ability to drive removed since 2020.
In New South Wales almost 120,000 of the 220,000 eligible visa holders would need to undergo driving tests.