Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer Melanie Suitor said the changes would come into effect Monday November 20, 2017 and were designed to improve the way the scheme prepares novice drivers to be safe.

"The first six months of solo driving is the highest risk period for novice drivers. Since the introduction of the Graduated Licensing Scheme there has been a 50% reduction in the number of young drivers killed on NSW roads. Young drivers continue to be over-represented in road crashes. They make up 8% of licence holders, yet their crashes account for 15% of all fatalities," Ms Suitor said.

The Graduated Licensing System takes drivers from their learner licence to full licence with restrictions and conditions that are designed to ensure they build their skills and knowledge.

The three main changes include:

Learner drivers will now be required to complete the Hazard Perception Test before undertaking the practical driving test.  

P1 drivers no longer have to undertake the Hazard Perception Test to graduate to their P2 licence.

The Driver Qualification Test has been removed for P2 drivers to graduate to a full licence, though a six month extension will be imposed if a P2 driver receives a suspension for unsafe driving behaviour.

These changes will align the NSW licensing system with other jurisdictions and better prepare novice drivers for real world hazards.

There are transitional arrangements in place for current learner and provisional 1 and 2 licence holders.    

"By taking the Hazard Perception Test, learner drivers will be more prepared for common crash scenarios before they start driving unsupervised.

"The new suspension rules for P2 drivers make sure that novice drivers have a good record before they can apply for a full licence. The extra six months a suspended driver will need to spend on their P2 licence will encourage safe driving behaviour," Ms Suitor said.

Since October 2017 NSW learner drivers can use digital logbooks to record their 120 hours of supervised driving.

All of these licence changes will be covered in upcoming 'Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers' workshops.

Find out more information about the changes at www.rms.nsw.gov.au/licence