{
  "site": "https://drivingschools.nl",
  "page": "https://drivingschools.nl/exchange/australia",
  "checker": "https://drivingschools.nl/check#c=AU",
  "rules_version": "1.2.2",
  "verified": "2026-09-02",
  "code": "AU",
  "name": "Australia",
  "group": "OTHER",
  "rule_class": "other",
  "verdict": "The Dutch CBR exams. Unless you hold a 30% ruling (expat scheme) decision, which allows an exchange from any country.",
  "exchangeable_categories": [],
  "licence_script": "latin",
  "answers": {
    "can_i_exchange_it": "Not directly. Australia is not on the RDW agreement list, so the standard route is the Dutch exams: CBR theory (available in English) and a practical exam. Exception: holders of a 30%-ruling (expat scheme) decision can exchange a licence from any country.",
    "how_long_can_i_drive_on_it": "185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.",
    "translation": "Latin script: no translation needed."
  },
  "international_driving_permit": {
    "question": "Which International Driving Permit can Australia issue, and do I need one?",
    "answer": "The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read. The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days. Australia is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (since 7 December 1954). It is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Its permit follows the 1949 model and is valid for one year from the date of issue. The Netherlands is a party to both conventions, so the 1949 permit is recognised here.",
    "status": "geneva_only",
    "vienna_1968": null,
    "geneva_1949": {
      "date": "1954-12-07",
      "type": "accession"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence",
        "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsV.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-1&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg5&clang=_en",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit)",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1952/03/19520326%2003-36%20PM/Ch_XI_B_1_2_3.pdf",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      }
    ]
  },
  "licence_categories": {
    "note": "The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.",
    "reading_note": "There is no national Australian licence: each state and territory issues its own. The classes are the same in New South Wales and Queensland, the two states read here (C, R, LR, MR, HR, HC, MC), and none of them is a letter the Dutch licence uses in the same way: a class C car licence reaches 4.5 tonnes and 12 seats, past the Dutch B. That is the case in which the RDW advises an International Driving Permit, so the classes can be read.",
    "rows": [
      {
        "code": "C (car)",
        "means": "Cars, utes, vans, some light trucks and car-based motor tricycles up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, seating up to 12 adults including the driver; also tractors.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "B"
        ],
        "note": "Dutch B stops at 3,500 kg and 8 passengers; a 12-seat minibus or a 4.5-tonne truck needs D1 or C1 here."
      },
      {
        "code": "CA (Queensland)",
        "means": "A class C vehicle with an automatic transmission only.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "B"
        ],
        "note": "With code 78: automatic only."
      },
      {
        "code": "R (rider)",
        "means": "Motorcycles and scooters of any engine size.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "A"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "RE (Queensland)",
        "means": "Mopeds and learner-approved motorcycles with 2 or 3 wheels, with or without a trailer.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "A2"
        ],
        "note": "Our judgement: the learner-approved list is set by power to weight, the Dutch A2 by a 35 kW cap."
      },
      {
        "code": "LR (light rigid)",
        "means": "Rigid vehicles over 4.5 and up to 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, any number of axles, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; vehicles up to 8 tonnes carrying more than 12 adults; everything in C except motorcycles.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "C1",
          "D1"
        ],
        "note": "C1 for goods, D1 for a bus."
      },
      {
        "code": "MR (medium rigid)",
        "means": "Rigid vehicles with 2 axles over 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; everything in LR.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "C",
          "D"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "HR (heavy rigid)",
        "means": "Rigid vehicles with 3 or more axles over 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; articulated buses; everything in MR.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "C",
          "D"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "HC (heavy combination)",
        "means": "Articulated vehicles with 3 or more axles, and towing combinations with a trailer over 9 tonnes gross vehicle mass; everything in HR.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "CE",
          "DE"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "MC (multi combination)",
        "means": "Road trains, B-doubles and low-loader combinations; everything in HC.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "CE"
        ],
        "note": "The Netherlands has no class above CE."
      }
    ],
    "automatic_only": "An Australian licence for automatics only carries condition A: \"the holder must drive only a motor vehicle fitted with an automatic transmission\" (New South Wales). Queensland prints the car class as CA instead of C. Both mean what Dutch code 78 means.",
    "code_78": "If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.",
    "document": [
      "A full New South Wales licence is issued for 1, 3 or 5 years; drivers aged 21 to 44 may take a 10-year licence, in person at a Service NSW centre."
    ],
    "open_points": [
      "The Dutch column is our judgement: class C (4.5 tonnes, 12 seats) to B; LR to C1 or D1; MR and HR to C or D; HC to CE or DE; MC to CE; Queensland RE to A2. Australian classes turn on gross vehicle mass and axles, Dutch ones on mass and seats, so none is an equivalence.",
      "Only New South Wales and Queensland were read; the other states and territories use the same class letters, but their conditions, codes and licence terms may differ.",
      "Learner and provisional licences (L, P1, P2) are not covered by the table."
    ],
    "followup": "https://github.com/reede-web/drivingschools/issues/133",
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "NSW Government (Transport for NSW), licence classes",
        "url": "https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driver-and-rider-licences/licence-classes-and-conditions/classes",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Queensland Government, licence types, classes and conditions: class CA and condition A",
        "url": "https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/licensing/driver-licensing/types",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "NSW Government, licence conditions: condition A, automatic transmission",
        "url": "https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driver-and-rider-licences/licence-classes-and-conditions/conditions",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Service NSW, renew or upgrade a NSW driver licence: 1, 3, 5 or 10 years",
        "url": "https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/renew-or-upgrade-a-nsw-driver-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "RDW, rijbewijscategorieën",
        "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/over-het-rijbewijs/rijbewijscategorieen",
        "verified": "2026-09-08",
        "side": "dutch"
      },
      {
        "label": "CBR, wat betekent code 78",
        "url": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/veelgestelde-vragen/wat-betekent-code-78",
        "verified": "2026-09-08",
        "side": "dutch"
      }
    ]
  },
  "worked_example": {
    "note": "Computed by the rules engine for a sample input; your own dates give your own deadline.",
    "input": {
      "issue_date": "2020-06-15",
      "expiry_date": "2030-06-15",
      "brp_registration": "2026-09-01",
      "as_of": "2026-09-02"
    },
    "may_drive_until": "2027-03-04",
    "sentence": "Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.",
    "rules_applied": [
      {
        "rule_id": "V-NONEU-185D",
        "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/rijden-met-een-buitenlands-rijbewijs",
        "verified": "2026-09-04"
      }
    ]
  },
  "cost": {
    "route": "retest_experienced",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "note": "Official 2026 fees carry their source; estimates and derived amounts are labelled.",
    "totals": {
      "low": 947.4,
      "typical": 1408.35,
      "high": 1916.9
    },
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "health_declaration",
        "label": "Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring)",
        "low": 46.9,
        "typical": 46.9,
        "high": 46.9,
        "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "theory_course",
        "label": "Theory course (English, online or one-day class)",
        "low": 30,
        "typical": 50,
        "high": 129,
        "market_estimate": true,
        "source": "https://theory.nl/",
        "verified": "2026-09-05"
      },
      {
        "id": "theory_exams",
        "label": "Theory exam B (English), budgeted for 1.6 attempts on average",
        "low": 57,
        "typical": 91.2,
        "high": 114,
        "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "lessons",
        "label": "Driving lessons (10–20 × €67.00)",
        "low": 670,
        "typical": 1005,
        "high": 1340,
        "market_estimate": true,
        "source": "https://dutchdriverslicense.com/rates/",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "practical_exams",
        "label": "Practical exam B, budgeted for 1.5 attempts on average",
        "low": 143.5,
        "typical": 215.25,
        "high": 287,
        "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      }
    ],
    "assumptions": [
      "Lesson count defaults for \"experienced driver retesting\": 10–20, typical 15. No official CBR figure exists. School packages for experienced foreign drivers start around 10 lessons (5 if very experienced); the default is the midpoint of the 10–20 band so the headline number is neither optimistic nor scary. The exam tests Dutch-specific behaviour, not whether you can drive.",
      "Lesson price: €67.00/60 min (national median, Rijloket June 2026 survey of 3,520 schools).",
      "Exam attempts are averages, not a prediction: theory 1.6 (from the 35.9% pass rate for English exams in 2025, all attempts), practical 1.5 (our assumption). The low figure always assumes one pass; set whole numbers to plan for yourself."
    ]
  },
  "timeline": {
    "weeks": {
      "low": 8,
      "high": 16,
      "estimate": true
    },
    "steps": [
      {
        "id": "rt-1",
        "title": "Mijn CBR account + health declaration",
        "time": "~4 weeks (CBR processing)",
        "time_is_estimate": false,
        "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijden-en-uw-gezondheid/gezondheidsverklaring-invullen"
      },
      {
        "id": "rt-2",
        "title": "Book and pass the theory exam",
        "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/veelgestelde-vragen/kan-ik-het-theorie-examen-in-een-andere-taal-doen"
      },
      {
        "id": "rt-3",
        "title": "Prepare with a theory course",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "rt-4",
        "title": "Choose a driving school",
        "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijschoolzoeker"
      },
      {
        "id": "rt-5",
        "title": "Lessons, then the practical exam",
        "time": "lessons over several weeks; theory certificate stays valid 18 months",
        "time_is_estimate": true,
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "rt-6",
        "title": "Experienced? Plan fewer lessons",
        "link": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "country_notes": [
    {
      "text": "No Australian state is on the RDW's agreement list, so the route is the CBR exams, or exchange via the 30% ruling. Australian licences show classes such as C or R rather than the European letters; the RDW advises an International Driving Permit.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-06"
    }
  ],
  "common_mistakes": [
    {
      "text": "Thinking the 185 days start when you arrive. They run from the day you register at a Dutch address (BRP), and after them a Dutch licence is required.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Expecting an International Driving Permit to extend the 185 days. It does not; the RDW advises one only so that the categories on your licence can be read.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Waiting for the 30% ruling before doing anything. The ruling lets you exchange from any country, but only while the foreign licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit, and the 185 days keep running meanwhile.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Letting the licence expire at home. An expired non-EU licence cannot be exchanged on any route; you would take the exams from scratch.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchange checklist (Dutch)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchanging a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    }
  ],
  "terms": "Guidance, not legal advice. Every entry carries the official page it was read from and the date it was read. The RDW checklist is the authority; where the rules encode a conservative reading, the entry says so. When you use this data, cite the page URL and the rules version. Corrections: hello@drivingschools.nl."
}