Victorian high school students go interstate to get their drivers’ licences at 17

Victorian teens are illegally bypassing regulations and obtaining their driver’s licences before they’re 18 using this sneaky tactic. Read how they’re ditching the L-plates early here.

Victoria has the oldest P-platers in the country, with learners forced to wait until they’re 18. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Victorian teens are illegally obtaining probationary drivers’ licences from interstate in order to get behind the wheel before they are 18, the Herald Sun can reveal.

Victoria has the oldest P-platers in the country, with learners forced to wait until they’re 18 and have completed 120 hours of driving to obtain their “P1” probationary licence.

But students from a growing number of Victorian schools are bragging to their mates after obtaining their drivers’ licence at 17 through a sneaky loophole.

Multiple sources said students were travelling to New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia – where the minimum probationary driving age is 17 – to prematurely sit their driving tests.

They use tactics such as lying about their family’s interstate holiday house being their main address to “prove” they live in the state, usually with the permission of their parents.

Students are travelling to New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia to prematurely sit their driving tests. Picture: Supplied

This allows them to drive unsupervised for a whole year earlier than they would in Victoria.

Concerned parents have told the Herald Sun students are driving their peers to school, sport and social activities

“The real issue is current year 11 students with Queensland or South Australian licences are bragging to their friends and causing a spiral effect (to the point where) other parents are letting their kids do it,” one parent said.

“These kids are above the law and are putting others at risk.”

This trend is spreading in elite private schools where a high number of parents have interstate holiday homes.

Some of the students with interstate licences mistakenly believe they do not have to adhere to strict overloading policies, alarming parents and leading to warnings being issued by schools.

Lawyer Paul O’Halloran, partner at Dentons, said schools could be liable for the actions of any student drivers.

“When students are driving their personal vehicles during school hours and the school is aware of it, this activity may be deemed sufficiently connected to a ‘school activity’ such that the school is held liable for any accident or injury,” he said.

The Nationals have advocated for Victoria to follow other states and lower the probationary licence minimum age.

This trend is spreading in elite private schools. Picture: Supplied

Opposition transport spokesman Danny O’Brien said young people in country areas would appreciate the ability to get their licences earlier than 18.

“This would help with work and training and getting around,” he said.

However, research conducted in 2016 as part of a parliamentary inquiry into road and safety in Victoria found lowering the licensing age to 17 would result in 10 more deaths, 241 more serious injuries and 714 more minor injuries each year.

A Victorian Department of Transport spokeswoman said “road crashes are one of the leading causes of death among young people, and drivers on probationary licences have the highest risk of crashing than at any other time while driving”.

A spokeswoman for the Queensland Department Transport and Main Roads said a “Queensland driver's licence may be cancelled if the licence was obtained on the basis of false or misleading information or if the holder of the licence does not reside in Queensland.”

In Victoria, obtaining a licence fraudulently, including through the provision of a false address, is an offence.

Failing to transfer an interstate licence to a Victorian licence as a resident is also considered unlicensed driving after six months, in line with the state’s road rules.

Those found guilty of such offences could cop a fine of up to $11,855 or six months in

imprisonment, while those not taken to court could receive a $987 infringement notice.

Originally published as Victorian high school students go interstate to get their drivers’ licences at 17