Britz in Oz for British Expats

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Permanent Resident

A Permanent Resident is normally allowed to drive for 3 months before needing an Australian Licence, after that period they would be classed as driving without a valid licence.

Visitors

A person on a Temporary or Visitors Visa is allowed to drive a private vehicle on a valid CURRENT driving licence from their own country, for as long as they have a valid visitors visa.

These visiting motorists are required to carry their licence (and English translation if applicable) at all times while driving and produce it to Police on request. Production of their temporary visas may also be required as evidence of their temporary residential status.

Change your UK licence to an Australian Licence

A UK full licence holder is able to "swap" their UK licence for an Australian one, without the need for ANY tests, Theory or Practical.
This has been an area of confusion for some years, as different States had different rules for this over the years, but this is something that has now been standardised for all States.
You do still retain your old UK licence, as it is not actually cancelled or retained by most States.
This only applies to Private vehicles, NOT commercial vehicles.

As each State may have has different rules, and has different pricing structure for Driving Licences, please check the individual page for the relevant State.
ACT : NSW : NT : QLD : SA : TAS : VIC : WA

It appears you cannot renew a UK licence, without being UK resident.

To hold a driving licence issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will also mean that you will need to have a permanent address in England, Scotland or Wales.

• www.direct.gov.uk
Remember, if you permanently move to another country, you can�t register your new address on your British driving licence. You�ll need to contact the driving licence authority in your country of residence.

• www.direct.gov.uk

Moving Interstate

When a person moves Interstate in Australia, they are treated in almost the same way that they treat overseas arrivals.

You have 3 months to change your licence from your original residence State, to the new one.

There is one difference though, as long as it hasn't changed... No charge, your new State licence will have the same expiry date that your old State licence has.

Your old licence will be returned to the original States Motor Transport department, or destroyed, after advising the relevant Motor Transport Department of the change.

Moving your car Interstate

I often hear about people who have moved to Australia, and then move again to a different State, and sometimes need to have a car transported to the new destination.
There are a few places about that provide such a service, I even used one myself, which was owned by the big transport company Patricks.
To get a guide on the cost, this web site gives some recent example quotes.

• www.movingcars.com.au/recent-quotes.php
I have not used those myself, but they do give a very good idea of cost.

LPG Vehicle Conversions

The Australian Government established a grant to encourage vehicle owners to buy new LPG vehicles or convert existing vehicles to operate on LPG only or LPG and petrol.

The grant commenced 14 August 2006 and payments started 1 October 2006.

Program eligibility criteria changed from 24 September 2008.

The grant is administered by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.
Medicare Australia and Centrelink offices deliver the grant and are the contact points for customer inquiries and claim lodgement.

There are two different grants available, subject to the eligibility criteria:

• A grant of $2,000 for the LPG conversion of a new or used petrol or diesel motor vehicle;
  This includes new or used vehicles where the conversion occurs after the vehicle is registered; and new vehicles where the LPG unit is fitted after manufacture but before the vehicle is registered for the first time.
• A grant of $1,000 for the purchase of a new motor vehicle with a LPG unit fitted at the time of manufacture of the vehicle.

Source: LPG Vehicle Scheme

Driving Rules

In Australia they drive on the LEFT, at least the majority of the time!

If there are two lanes going in the same direction, a lot of drivers will use the right hand lane, and it can be quite annoying at times to the British who learned to never overtake on the inside, as you now have to learn to do just that, or just follow the driver in front.

When those two lanes come to an end, and become just one lane, it is more often than not the left lane that must give way to the right lane. In many areas, the drivers in the right lane will also try close the gap, to block those in the left lane from getting in.

I think that is a partial reason for people driving in the right hand lane all the time.

Driving Conditions

After a long dry spell, a little rain can make the roads very dangerous. This can be more important in Australia, as many days or even weeks, can pass between rainfalls.

It is commonly known that during a dry period, engine oil, tyre rubber and grease builds up on the road over time.

After a short rainfall, the road can become extremely slick. Continued rainfall will eventually wash away this oil, but the first few hours can be very dangerous, especially for inexperienced drivers, who may not be aware of the potential problems.

Drink Driving in Australia

A report issued in October 2009 stated annual figures for Australia of:

• 12,399,027 Breath Tests carried out in the last year
  
• 111,045 people charged with drink driving in that year
  

This shows that almost 9 in every 1,000 drivers last year were over the drinking limit.

Drink Driving in Queensland

Easter 2009

Queensland State Traffic Support Branch Superintendent Col Campbell said out of 52,128 random breath tests, 225 people were caught drink-driving in the first 48 hours of the Easter break.

Drink Driving in New South Wales

In NSW alone, about 3.4 million breath tests were carried out last year, and the percentage of all fatal crashes, involving alcohol, has dropped from 40% in 1982 to the current 19%.

Random breath testing was introduced in 1982.

Car Parking Costs in Australia

Car Parking Costs in Brisbane

South Bank Parklands Underground Carpark
Parking Fees
0 - 1 hour $6
1 - 2 hours $12
2 - 3 hours $18
3 - 4 hours $24
4 - 5 hours $30
5 - 6 hours $36
6 + hours $36
Daily Maximum $36

• www.visitsouthbank.com/visitor_information/parking

Car Parking Costs in Sydney

Domain Car Park
0 - 1 Hour $6.00
1 - 2 Hours $14.00
2 - 3 Hours $22.00
3 - 4 Hours $28.00
4 - 5 hours $34.00
5 � 6 hours $38.00
Maximum Daily $38.00

• www.domaincarpark.com.au/rates-a-times.html

Miscellaneous

UK petrol prices for comparison can be found at:

• www.petrolprices.com

In March 2006, 92% of motor vehicles in Australia had air conditioning.