Tools
Converting an overseas licence
A permanent resident converting an overseas driver licence gets a different deadline in every Australian jurisdiction, and 7 of the 8 publish one this site verified: New South Wales, 3 months from the date you arrive in Australia; Victoria, 6 months from the day you start living in Victoria; Queensland, 3 months of living in Queensland; Western Australia, 3 months from arrival; South Australia, 90 days from becoming a permanent resident; Tasmania, 6 months from the date permanent residency is granted; Australian Capital Territory, 3 months from the grant of the permanent visa. Northern Territory publishes no conversion deadline this site could verify, so none is stated. The recognised country list is verified here for New South Wales and Queensland only, and stated as unverified for the other 6. NSW Government, Moving your overseas licence to NSW. Checked 28 August 2026. VicRoads, Convert your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Queensland Government, Transferring to a Queensland licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of Transport WA, Moving from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026. Government of South Australia, Driving with your overseas licence in SA. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of State Growth Tasmania, Converting an overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026.
Two facts decide this: how long you have, and whether your country is on your new state's recognised list. Where the list has not been verified here, this page says so rather than guessing.
Pick the country your licence is from and the state or territory you are moving to. The panel underneath gives you the deadline, which is verified in seven of the eight, and then either a straight answer on the tests or a plain statement that the recognised country list for that jurisdiction has not been verified here.
- What it needs from you
- The country on your licence, and where you are moving to.
- What it gives back
- The conversion deadline, what it is counted from, and either the test outcome or an honest unverified answer.
- Where the rules come from
- Agency pages, named on the row and dated. Three jurisdictions changed these rules recently, which is why the date matters more here than anywhere else on the site.
- What it will not do
- Infer a recognised country list from a neighbouring state, weigh your age at first licence, or tell you the outcome of your own case. Only the agency can run that.
The list holds every recognised jurisdiction we read plus the countries people most often arrive from. If yours is missing, treat it as unlisted and check with the agency.
Where you are living now
New South Wales: 3 months from the date you arrive in Australia
A permanent resident under the Migration Act 1958 can drive on a current overseas licence for up to 3 months after arriving. To keep driving after that you need a NSW licence.
- Permanent resident deadline
- 3 months from the date you arrive in Australia
- NSW Government, Moving your overseas licence to NSW. Checked 28 August 2026.
- Temporary visa holders
- 6 months, on a temporary NSW licence
- A different clock, and a different licence. Do not use the resident deadline if you are here on a temporary visa.
- India on the recognised list
- Not on the list we read
- India was not on the recognised list we read
- Tests
- A knowledge test and a driving test before an equivalent NSW licence is issued.
- NSW Government, Knowledge and driving test exemptions. Checked 28 August 2026.
Worth knowing whichever answer you got:
- Heavy vehicle classes LR, MR, HR, HC and MC are never exempt, whichever country the licence came from.
- External territories of a listed country do not count as that country.
- New Zealand paper licences are excluded from the exemption.
- The Isle of Man counts from 1 April 1991 and Malta from 2 January 2004.
- From 1 February 2026 Experienced Driver Status from certain countries stopped applying in New South Wales, and a further group of drivers aged 25 and over now has to sit both tests. Check your own country against the agency list before you book anything.
The deadlines, side by side
They are not the same number and they do not start from the same day. That is the whole reason people miss them.
| Where | Deadline for a permanent resident | Counted from | Recognised list verified here |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 3 months from the date you arrive in Australia | NSW Government, Moving your overseas licence to NSW, checked 28 August 2026 | Yes |
| Victoria | 6 months from the day you start living in Victoria | VicRoads, Convert your overseas licence, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
| Queensland | 3 months of living in Queensland | Queensland Government, Transferring to a Queensland licence, checked 28 August 2026 | Yes |
| Western Australia | 3 months from arrival | Department of Transport WA, Moving from overseas, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
| South Australia | 90 days from becoming a permanent resident | Government of South Australia, Driving with your overseas licence in SA, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
| Tasmania | 6 months from the date permanent residency is granted | Department of State Growth Tasmania, Converting an overseas licence, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
| Northern Territory | Not published here | Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
| Australian Capital Territory | 3 months from the grant of the permanent visa | Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas, checked 28 August 2026 | No |
The three mistakes that cost people a licence
All three come from assuming the rule you heard about is the rule that applies to you.
Assuming the six month figure applies to you
In New South Wales, six months is the temporary visitor figure. A permanent resident has three months from arriving in Australia, and plenty of advice online still repeats six for everybody.
Victoria and Tasmania do use six months, but Victoria counts from the day you start living in the state and Tasmania counts from the grant of permanent residency. South Australia uses 90 days. Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory use three months, and the Queensland three months is time lived in Queensland rather than time in the country.
Assuming an experienced driver still gets a pass
This is the rule that changed most recently, and it changed in three places at once. Western Australia removed the Experienced Driver Recognised category on 1 November 2025, so anybody who did not apply by 31 October 2025 now sits the theory test and the Practical Driving Assessment.
New South Wales stopped applying Experienced Driver Status from certain countries on 1 February 2026, and extended testing to a further group of drivers aged 25 and over. South Australia added an extra training requirement for some countries from 1 May 2025.
If the advice you are working from is more than a year old, it is probably wrong. That includes advice from somebody who converted a licence themselves.
Assuming you can keep driving while you sort it out
Access Canberra puts it as plainly as any agency does: if you have not passed the practical driving test within three months of the permanent resident visa, you are driving unlicensed and must not drive on ACT roads.
The deadline is not a paperwork deadline. It is the day the overseas licence stops working.
Common questions
Every answer here is built from the deadlines and outcomes in the table above, and names the agency page each one was read from.
- How long do you have to convert an overseas licence in Australia?
- A permanent resident converting an overseas driver licence gets a different deadline in every Australian jurisdiction, and 7 of the 8 publish one this site verified: New South Wales, 3 months from the date you arrive in Australia; Victoria, 6 months from the day you start living in Victoria; Queensland, 3 months of living in Queensland; Western Australia, 3 months from arrival; South Australia, 90 days from becoming a permanent resident; Tasmania, 6 months from the date permanent residency is granted; Australian Capital Territory, 3 months from the grant of the permanent visa. Northern Territory publishes no conversion deadline this site could verify, so none is stated. The recognised country list is verified here for New South Wales and Queensland only, and stated as unverified for the other 6. NSW Government, Moving your overseas licence to NSW. Checked 28 August 2026. VicRoads, Convert your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Queensland Government, Transferring to a Queensland licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of Transport WA, Moving from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026. Government of South Australia, Driving with your overseas licence in SA. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of State Growth Tasmania, Converting an overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026.
- What is the conversion deadline counted from?
- New South Wales: A permanent resident under the Migration Act 1958 can drive on a current overseas licence for up to 3 months after arriving. To keep driving after that you need a NSW licence. Victoria: If you are moving to Victoria and plan to live there for more than 6 months you have to convert the overseas licence. The 6 months runs from the day you start living in the state, not from the visa date. Queensland: Once you hold a resident visa or become an Australian citizen and have lived in Queensland for 3 months, you need a Queensland driver licence. Western Australia: An Australian citizen or permanent resident with a current overseas licence can drive in Western Australia for up to 3 months, and has to apply to transfer inside that window. South Australia: A permanent resident of South Australia has 90 days to get a South Australian driver's licence. Tasmania: Tasmania counts the 6 months from the grant of permanent residency, not from arrival. If you cannot make it, Transport Services can grant an extension, which is unusual and worth knowing about. Australian Capital Territory: A permanent visa holder can use an overseas licence in the Australian Capital Territory for 3 months, after which an ACT licence is needed to drive at all. NSW Government, Moving your overseas licence to NSW. Checked 28 August 2026. VicRoads, Convert your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Queensland Government, Transferring to a Queensland licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of Transport WA, Moving from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026. Government of South Australia, Driving with your overseas licence in SA. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of State Growth Tasmania, Converting an overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026.
- Which Australian jurisdictions recognise an overseas licence without a test?
- New South Wales, for a licence from a country on the list this site read: No knowledge test and no driving test, as long as the licence is current or expired within the last 5 years and is not a learner licence. Queensland, for a licence from a country on the list this site read: No road rules test and no practical driving test for a car, moped or motorcycle licence, if you hold or have held the corresponding licence within the last 5 years. This site has not verified the recognised list for Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory, so it gives no answer for those and sends you to the agency instead. NSW Government, Knowledge and driving test exemptions. Checked 28 August 2026. Queensland Government, Testing requirements to transfer your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. VicRoads, Convert your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of Transport WA, Moving from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026. Government of South Australia, Driving with your overseas licence in SA. Checked 28 August 2026. Department of State Growth Tasmania, Converting an overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026. Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026.
- What tests do you sit if your country is not on the recognised list?
- New South Wales: A knowledge test and a driving test before an equivalent NSW licence is issued. Queensland: A road rules test and a practical driving test before the Queensland licence is issued. NSW Government, Knowledge and driving test exemptions. Checked 28 August 2026. Queensland Government, Testing requirements to transfer your overseas licence. Checked 28 August 2026.
- Can you keep driving on the overseas licence while you sort the paperwork out?
- Australian Capital Territory: Access Canberra states it plainly: if you have not passed the practical driving test within 3 months of the permanent resident visa, you are driving unlicensed and must not drive on ACT roads. The deadline is the day the overseas licence stops working, not a paperwork date. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory each set their own, listed above. Access Canberra, Drivers with licences from overseas. Checked 28 August 2026.
- Why does this site publish no conversion rule for Northern Territory?
- We could not verify a conversion deadline for the Northern Territory on the territory's own pages, so we do not state one. This is the same gap that leaves the Northern Territory without a published question count on our state pages. Nothing about the Northern Territory conversion process is verified here. Treat the agency link as the only answer. Northern Territory Government, Get your driver licence. Checked 28 August 2026.
What we will not tell you
We read the recognised country lists for New South Wales and Queensland in full, so for those two the tool gives a straight answer on the tests. For Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory we have not verified the list, and we are not going to infer one from a neighbouring state. Those lists differ, they have all moved recently, and a wrong answer here means somebody drives without a licence or books a test they did not need.
We also cannot tell you what your own age at first licence, or the years you have held it, will do to the answer. Victoria weighs both. Only the agency can run your case.
If you do have to sit the knowledge test, it is the same test a local learner sits. The New South Wales question bank is published in full and free to practise, and every other jurisdiction has a pass mark worth checking before you book.
The pages these figures come from
Every figure above is read off one of these pages, where it sits next to the agency that published it and the date it was checked.