Extension for overseas drivers

The government has announced it is temporarily extending the amount of time people can drive on overseas licences from 12 months to 18 months, to help tackle the current wait times for people wanting to sit their driver licence test.

Simeon Brown, Minister of Transport, says the government has already taken several actions to reduce those wait times but more work needs to be done.

The extension for motorists from overseas requires a change to driver licensing rules and will take effect from November. It will be in place for two years before reverting to the 12-month requirement. 

It is hoped this change will reduce demand for practical driver licence tests and allow the NZTA to get through a backlog.

The move builds upon other recent government measures to address wait times, such as introducing a limit of one free resit for class one driver licence tests, putting a 10-day stand down in place following a second failed theory test attempt on the same day, and removing free resits for overseas licence conversions.

An additional 52 driver testing officers and 19 temporary driver testing officers have also been recruited to increase the number of tests able to be completed each week. 

“The previous government removed fees for resits of theory and practical tests which led to a huge demand on driver testing officers and unacceptable wait times,” says Brown. 

“People applying to sit their licence tests were left waiting for more than 60 days, and a backlog of over 70,000 waiting to sit a practical licence test soon developed.

“Through [this government’s] actions, the wait times have eased to an average of 35 days for a full driver licence, and to 46 days for a restricted driver licence test.

“However, there is still more work to do as this is above the target of 90 per cent of practical tests being taken within 30 days of booking.”

Brown notes one of the challenges alongside the unlimited free resits has been a surge in the number of overseas licence conversions, which have outnumbered domestic tests since November last year.

“Cabinet has agreed to temporarily extend the time that people can drive on their overseas driver licence from 12 months to 18 months from the date of their last entry into New Zealand. 

“After that time, they will need to convert to a New Zealand licence or stop driving altogether.”