Michael Ferguson,Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Getting a driver's licence is an important milestone in the lives of young Tasmanians, and we recognise restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 may impact those plans.
The Liberal Government wants to ensure our learner drivers can continue to develop their skills during this difficult time.
Effective from today, we have made changes to the L1-L2 Graduated Licensing System (GLS) so they can continue to progress towards a full licence.
We have removed the requirement for the L2 Driving Practical Assessment so new and current L1 licence holders are not held up or disadvantaged in moving towards their Ps and ultimately their full licence.
Importantly, this will also reduce the need for learners to visit Service Tasmania shopfronts. It will also reduce the costs of obtaining a licence.
Once restrictions are lifted, it will mean wait times for the P1 Driving Assessment will also be shorter.
Instead, L1 licence holders will now be able to apply online for an L2 licence after three continuous months on their L1 licence.
It is recommended learners still complete 80 supervised driving hours and record it in their logbook, including 15 at night, over the combined L1 and L2 stages (30 hours recommended in L1 and 50 hours mandatory in L2). As clarified earlier this month, this is considered a learning activity, so parents can continue to supervise learner drivers during the current restrictions*.
Any learner licence holders should be recording their supervised driving hours in their logbook now. This will ensure they're building up logbook hours in readiness to sit the P1 Driving Assessment when restrictions related to COVID-19 are lifted.
Current L2 licence holders will continue to be required to complete the current 50 supervised driving hours in a logbook to be eligible to undertake the P1 Driving Assessment, and the delay in being able to take their assessment means they can gain more on-road experience.
We know that more practice, in more conditions, more often makes young drivers safer. We want to continue to give young drivers the valuable experience that enables them to develop their driving skills during this difficult time.
We have also made the decision that L1 and L2 licences that would expire in the next six months will automatically be extended to September 30, 2020.
I will be writing to all L1 licence holders to inform them of these changes.
