Guide

Insurance when you drive in Australia on an overseas licence

A car cannot be registered in Australia without compulsory third party (CTP) insurance, which covers injuries to people. Damage to cars and property is separate: it is covered, if at all, by the car’s own policy or the hire company’s cover. The policies and rental terms we read tie that cover to the driver holding the licence the law or the contract requires. Here is what they say, word for word.

Published 29 September 2026 · Official Translation

Driving in Australia on an overseas licence?

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Do you need insurance to drive in Australia?

One kind is compulsory, and it belongs to the car rather than to you. The government’s Moneysmart site lists “Compulsory Third Party (you have to have this insurance)” first among the types of car insurance, and explains: “This covers injuries to people caused by your car. Does not cover damage to cars or property (which can be expensive). You must have CTP to register your car. In some states, CTP is included in your car registration costs so you don’t need to buy it separately.”

Moneysmart then lists third party property damage, third party property damage with fire and theft, and comprehensive cover as the types you can choose. Those are the policies that pay for damage to another car or to your own.

So there are two questions, not one. Is the car registered (which brings the injury cover with it)? And who pays for damage: the owner’s policy, the hire company’s cover, or you? On an overseas licence, the second question is where your licence papers come in.

CTP: part of registering the car

Queensland’s regulator, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission, puts it plainly: “Motor vehicles used on Queensland roads must have Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. The cost of CTP insurance is included in your vehicle registration fees. It is also required in all states and territories across Australia.” It describes what the cover does for a Queensland car: “If someone driving your Queensland registered motor vehicle causes, or partially causes, an accident that injures someone else anywhere in Australia, CTP insurance covers medical treatment, rehabilitation, and compensation costs related to these injuries.” Under “What CTP insurance DOES NOT cover”, the first item is “Vehicle or property damage.”

New South Wales calls it a Green Slip. The State Insurance Regulatory Authority says: “Before you can register any vehicle in NSW, you must buy a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance policy, commonly known as a Green Slip.” And: “Green Slips do not cover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle or the costs to repair or replace other property in the vehicle at the time of the crash.”

In Victoria it is a charge inside the registration fee. Transport Victoria says registration renewal costs are split into “Your registration fee” and “The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) fee”, and that “The TAC charge is third party insurance which is put towards supporting those who are injured on our roads.”

If you are driving a friend’s registered car or a registered hire car, the owner has already dealt with this. What CTP does not do is pay for a dented bumper, yours or anyone else’s.

Damage cover on a private car: what the policy wording says about licences

Moneysmart’s checklist for comparing policies tells you to “Compare the exclusions of different policies, to see what isn’t covered”, and one of its examples is “damage caused by an unlicensed, drunk, or drug-affected driver”. Three Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) we read show what that looks like in practice.

NRMA Insurance (car insurance PDS, prepared 10 September 2023) excludes cover “while Your Vehicle or a Substitute Vehicle is being driven, towed or operated by a person who: does not have the licence required by law; is not complying with all of the terms and conditions of their licence; or is disqualified from driving or holds a cancelled or suspended licence.”

AAMI (comprehensive car insurance PDS) lists, under “Unlicensed driving”: “your car being driven by, or is in the charge of someone who is not licensed, not correctly licensed or not complying with the conditions of their licence”.

RAA Insurance (standard comprehensive car insurance PDS) excludes loss, damage or liability where the driver “is not licensed to drive such a vehicle under all relevant Australian laws, bylaws, and regulations”.

Each of the three makes an exception for a policyholder who could not reasonably have known about the driver’s licence. AAMI and NRMA say in terms that the exception does not reach the driver. AAMI says it will pay “a claim for you (but not the driver or person in charge of your car)” when its conditions are met; NRMA says: “We will not provide cover under this Policy to the driver of Your Vehicle or Substitute Vehicle and We may seek to recover from that driver.”

If you are the one driving someone else’s car, that is the sentence to read twice. The details differ from policy to policy, so read the one that applies to the car you are driving.

Two car insurance help pages answer the overseas-licence question directly. Commonwealth Bank’s car insurance page, for a policy issued by Hollard, says: “Yes, you’ll be covered as long as the international driver’s licence is current and is recognised by Australian law as valid.” Greater Bank’s page, for a policy with its insurance partner Allianz, says: “A driver with an overseas licence is covered on your policy so long as they abide by the laws and driving regulations of the state or territory which they will be driving in.” It adds that “it is important to let Allianz know about anybody that you know of who will drive your car and have them listed on your policy.”

The common thread is the law of the place you are driving. The policy wording quoted here does not mention a translation by name; it points to the licence the law requires.

What the law asks of a licence not in English

That differs by state. New South Wales: “If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit.” Queensland: “If you’re visiting Queensland, you can drive if you have a valid interstate or overseas licence.” and “If your licence isn’t in English, you should carry a recognised English translation of it when you’re driving.” One says “must”, the other “should”.

The rules also change once you live here rather than visit, and each state sets its own point for that. How long you can drive on an overseas licence sets out each state’s clock, and the licence checker above gives you your state’s rule, quoted, for your situation. For what the state laws say when a translation is missing, see driving without a licence translation.

To find out how an insurer applies its wording to your licence, ask the insurer in writing before you drive, and keep the answer.

Hire cars: the damage cover is in the rental terms

With the three companies below, the damage cover sits in the same terms that set the licence rules, and the terms link the two. For each company’s licence and translation wording in full, see renting a car on an overseas licence.

Thrifty. “Collision damage waiver is included in your rental rate and reduces your liability to us for loss or damage to the rental Vehicle or related third party damage to the amount of the applicable Loss Damage Liability (LDL) as stated on your Rental Agreement, except in the event of a Prohibited Use.” Its driver requirements ask for a licence that “is in English or, if not in English, is accompanied by a certified English translation.”

Its list of Prohibited Uses includes “The use of the Vehicle by a person who was not authorised by Thrifty as the main or additional driver or did not meet the driver requirements in the Agreement”, and: “If the Vehicle is used for a Prohibited Use, to the extent allowed under applicable law, your liability will not be limited and our Optional Renter Protection Services will be void.” On injuries, the same terms say: “Your liability for personal injuries resulting from the Prohibited Use of the Vehicle is covered by the statutory schemes for transport accident compensation in each State or Territory, subject to the conditions and limitations of those schemes.”

Europcar. Its Australian rental information says: “Our basic level of cover is already included in the price.” Its rental terms (clause 7.2) ask for a licence “that is written in English or if not in English is accompanied by either: (A) a valid International Driving Permit issued in the country of issue of Your licence; or (B) an accurate translation in English of Your current licence issued by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)”.

NAATI itself certifies translators, not translations; under our NAATI certification option, a NAATI-certified translator prepares the translation. Clause 14.1 lists a breach of “7.2 (age and licence requirements)” among the breaches that are a Serious Breach where it “causes Damage, theft of the Vehicle or Third Party Loss”, and clause 5.1 says: “You have no Damage Cover if there is a Serious Breach of the Rental Contract even if a Damage Cover Product has been purchased and the Damage Excess has been paid.”

Budget. Its terms (effective 1 July 2026) say: “Unless Budget agrees otherwise, all Authorised Drivers must and do hold a current and valid licence (not being a restricted licence, learner’s or provisional licence) to drive the Vehicle at time of signing the Rental Document.” Budget may refuse a driver who cannot present, for a licence not in English, “an official translation thereof in English, at the time of rental”.

The Loss Damage Waiver applies, in clause 8.1’s words, “if You have complied with the Rental Agreement and these Terms and Conditions”, and clause 8.2 says it will not apply “if Budget has reasonable grounds to believe that loss or damage is caused by a breach of these Terms and Conditions by You.”

These are three companies’ documents as we read them on the date shown below. Rental terms change, and the version you agree to at the desk is the one that counts, so read the cover and exclusions section of yours before you sign.

Excess cover bought somewhere else

If you buy rental excess cover from someone other than the hire company, read how the hire company treats it. Thrifty’s terms spell it out: “If You purchase excess waiver insurance or similar from a third party (not from Thrifty directly) to cover Your liability to Thrifty, You remain liable for payment to Us, up to the level of Loss Damage Liability (LDL). Any responsibility of reimbursement is Your liability and Thrifty has no involvement.”

A policy bought elsewhere has its own PDS with its own driver and licence wording. Read that section, and if your licence is not in English, ask that insurer what it needs from you.

Before you drive: four things to check

Your licence papers for the state you are in. The original card, plus the translation or International Driving Permit that state names. Europcar’s terms, for one, want a permit “issued in the country of issue of Your licence”. Permit or translation compares the two.

The exclusions section of the policy or rental terms. Find the clause about unlicensed drivers or driver requirements and read it with your own licence in mind.

A written answer from the insurer or hire company. Tell them your licence is from overseas and, if it is not in English, what you will carry with it. Ask what their wording needs from you.

If you are borrowing a car, whether you need to be listed. The Greater Bank page quoted above asks policyholders to let the insurer know about anyone who will drive. Ask the owner’s insurer what its policy needs.

Where we fit, and when you do not need us

We do not sell insurance and cannot tell you what a policy covers. What we do is arrange the English translation of your licence: you place the order, both sides are translated, every field, including conditions and vehicle categories, and we deliver it by email as a PDF.

For driving or hiring a car, choose the NAATI certification option; Europcar’s terms, for one, name NAATI. A NAATI-certified translator prepares the translation, and the finished PDF carries the translator’s certification statement, their NAATI stamp (normally the digital stamp, with a QR code), their name and their practitioner number. If we make an error in our translation, we correct it and re-issue it at no charge.

You may not need us at all. If your licence is already in English, the translation rules quoted above are not about you: each one is about a licence not in English. If you brought an International Driving Permit from home, the rules quoted above from New South Wales and Europcar name it as an alternative to a translation. In the Northern Territory we do not sell driving translations. What it costs, if you do need one: translation prices.

Sources, checked on the date shown: