Overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers

Overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers are generally welcomed in Australia as they provide valuable skills and help address current industry shortages. However, concerns have been raised about the road safety risk of overseas licensed drivers. While not dismissing these concerns, the available evidence is that there are relatively few heavy vehicle crashes that involve overseas licensed drivers. Despite this, licensing authorities understand that while in Australia, overseas licence holders may face driving conditions, road use and road safety etiquette and culture which differs from their country of origin, and this presents a risk.

Overseas licence holders can drive in Australia. They can drive the same class of vehicle as in their home country. Currently, the period people can drive on their overseas licence, before transferring to an Australian licence, varies between states and territories.

The conditions and requirements for transferring from an overseas to an Australian licence depend on factors including the country where the licence was issued and what class of licence the person is seeking to obtain. However, in all cases, to obtain a heavy vehicle licence in Australia, an overseas licence holder must complete the same learning and assessment required of an Australian licence holder.