Driving in South Australia With An Overseas Driving License

2017 Update:

I have successfully gained my full South Australian driving license. Thanks to DrivingSchoolSA for their high quality coaching and superb guidance through the whole process.

Original Post:

Having your own car to drive around is the most convenient way of visiting many places in a short time. Plus, instead of having to wait around for unreliable public transport or unpredictable taxi drivers, driving your own car provides the flexibility and independence that some people just need sometimes.

Also, with a valid driving license that allows you to drive in Australia, your opportunity for employment opens up greatly. Most employers here insist that you have your own driving license, and sometimes even your own vehicle.

Hence, one of my first priorities when I landed in Adelaide was to ensure that I am legally allowed to drive around independently. My first lead to this information about getting your own driving license is available from the Service SA website ( https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/transport-travel-and-motoring/motoring/drivers-and-licences/driving-with-an-overseas-licence).

According to Service SA, an individual classified as a short-term visitor may drive the same types of vehicles as stated in the original country driving license. However, the license must be carried on the person together with an English translation if the original license is not in English. This means that if you are on a working holiday visa, you may drive with your license (with translation if required) up to two years without having to apply for a license from SA.

However, it turns out that if you are a permanent resident the allowance above does not apply ! Your original driving license may only be used for 90 days before requiring you to to go through all the driving test hooplas again. This doesn't apply if you carry a driving license from the UK or other countries which are recognized by the Australian government.

Driving License Application Process

So yesterday (18 Jan 2016) was when I went out to Service SA and sat for driving theory (paper) tests. There are three tests that an applicant needs to go through:

1. Driving Theory Test - which will test you on the rules, signs, facts and correct behaviour expected of a driver in Australia.
2. Hazard Perception Test - computer / touch-screen based test that shows you a situation playing and asks you to respond accordingly. For example, exiting and intersection on a busy road, or slowing down when driving near a pedestrian.
3. On-Road Test (VORT) - practical driving test in a car with an instructor / assessor sitting next to you as a passenger.

The above steps are similar to what Australian teenagers and new applicants will face when they apply for a driving license. However, if you are a PR who is already holding an overseas driving license, you may extend the 90 days restriction to 12 months just by doing the theory test. The condition attached with this is that you will have to do the Hazard Perception Test and VORT within 12 months after you have passed the theory test.

The Theory Test

The theory test comes in two parts. The Give Way diagram test consists of eight simple diagrams showing a bird view of an on-the-road situation. The instruction tells you to mark a circle around the vehicle / participant in the traffic that must give way. It was fairly simple but if you failed this one you would have failed the whole test.

The second part is a multiple choice test made up of 42 questions. You will be given a question book with roughly 250 multiple choice questions together with a question paper. The question paper will have 42 answer boxes with a random question number next to it, i.e. 2, 5, 13, 15 .... 180,117. You will need to lookup for the right question in the book according to this number. Be very careful not to do a silly mistake when looking up the question, as you may get your answers wrong by looking at the wrong question even if you knew the answer. The passing mark for this part is 32.

Tips

You can take your own sweet time as there is no time watch for the tests. I had allowed plenty of time to double check my answer sheet against the question book. I think I took about an hour to complete it. The results were worthwhile, this being the first time I sat for the test: full mark on Give Way diagrams and 40 / 42 for the multiple-choice questions. I also spent a couple of minutes to look at the other questions, and I decided I was lucky and could have prepared more.

One of the tips that my friend shared with me was to do as many practice as you can at http://mylicense.sa.gov.au/my-car-licence/practice-theory-test. The quiz generator gives you random questions which are similar in format to the actual test. However, I would personally recommend that you don't solely rely on the quiz generator in order to pass. You should also read the Driver's Handbook from cover to cover. This is not only for the purpose of passing the test, but to ensure that you know and understand the uniquely Australian road rules, signs and system you will interact with when you actually drive later. 

Even though I have passed the theory test, I personally will read the Driver's Handbook again and again as I have felt inadequately prepared when I took a peek at the other questions available in the question book.  Koala, Emu and Wombat crossings are things that you would not find in your home country.

Hazard Perception Test

... to be continued