Driving

Driving around Australia is a pretty sensible choice if you want to have the freedom to take in the sights at your own pace, and change your route whenever you like. The rules of the road are pretty similar to the UK: if you hold a full valid domestic driving licence, printed in English, you’ll be fine to drive a car in Australia for up to six months. Any longer and you’ll need to apply for an international driving permit (valid for 12 months and costing £5.50 – pick up a form at the Post Office), or an Australian driver’s licence.

You’ll drive on the left-hand side of the road in a right-hand drive vehicle, just as in the UK; minimum driving ages vary depending on the state or territory you’re in. You have to be at least 17 in most states, apart from South Australia where the minimum age in 16, and Victoria where you’ll need to be 18 or over to drive.

Australians take a dim view of drink-drivers, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) must not exceed .05%, which is less than the UK’s more relaxed .08% your BAC depends on your weight, age, height and how much you’ve drunk and when, so to be on the safe side it’s probably worth giving the booze a miss if you know you’re going to be driving.

Other rules that will ring a bell with Brits include no driving while on a mobile phone (unless hands-free); no driving without a seatbelt (same goes for passengers); and not parking facing oncoming traffic. More exotic road advice worth passing on is to beware of road trains, those famously long lorries than can seem deceptively short when you start overtaking; plus of course keep an eye out for large animals such as bouncy kangaroos at dusk when they come out to play and ignore the roads in their playgrounds. If you do run into a problem, call 000 for emergency services.

Speed limits in Australia vary depending on the state and how close you are to built-up areas, and are measured in kilometres per hour (kph) rather than miles: generally, open road motorways have a limit of 110kph (68mph) but drop to 100kph (60mph) in the cities (the top speed limit is 130kph (78mph) on highways in the Northern Territory); urban roads usually have a limit of 100kph (60mph), and built-up areas range from 40-60kph (25-37mph).

There aren’t many toll roads in Australia, but two to keep in mind are The North Ryde Toll Plaza (currently $4.40 for cars and motorbikes) and Pennant Hills Road Plaza ($2.20) on the Hills M2 motorway in northern Sydney.

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