New South Wales
Licence translation for New South Wales
We cannot help you with this one, and we would rather say so plainly than take your money. Transport for NSW accepts licence translations from four named organisations only — and an independent translator, however credentialled, is not one of them.
Driving in NSW on an overseas licence?
Answer a few quick questions and get your answer in 1 second.
The rule
A closed list, in their words
This is not a matter of interpretation. Both Service NSW and the NSW government site state it directly.
“Transport for NSW only accepts translations from…”
“If your licence or letter is not in English, you must provide a translation. Transport for NSW only accepts translations from: Multicultural NSW, Department of Home Affairs, Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea – for driver licences issued in the Republic of Korea, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office – for driver licences issued in Taiwan. Note: You must provide the original translation document. Photocopies are not accepted.”
The NSW government’s own preparation page puts it even more bluntly: “Translations obtained through any other means are not acceptable.”
Sources: Service NSW, transfer an overseas driver licence (last published 16 September 2026; checked 18 September 2026), and the NSW government’s prepare-your-application page.
The restriction is on the organisation, not on the credential. Multicultural NSW says its own translations are completed by NAATI-certified translators — so the NAATI qualification is not the barrier. We could employ the very same translators and still be unacceptable to Transport for NSW.
Where to go instead
Which of the four applies to you
Work down this list in order. The first one you qualify for is the one to use.
1. The Free Translating Service
Run by the Department of Home Affairs and delivered by TIS National. Free, but only for holders of certain visa subclasses, granted within the past two years, still valid, who are in Australia and have not used their document allowance. Not available to Australian citizens, tourist visa holders or working holiday visa holders; who the free service leaves out has the detail.
2. Multicultural NSW
Paid, and open to everyone including Australian citizens. This is the route for most people who do not qualify for the free service, and it is lodged through a Service NSW Centre.
3. Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea
Accepted for driver licences issued in the Republic of Korea only.
4. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Sydney
Accepted for driver licences issued in Taiwan only.
The trap
If you are an Australian citizen coming home
You have the shortest deadline, the fewest options and no free route — and it is easy to miss.
Three months, not six
The NSW Government says an Australian citizen who lives overseas and holds a current overseas licence may drive on it “for up to three months from the date you arrive in Australia”, and gives permanent residents the same three months. The six-month figure is for tourists and temporary overseas visitors.
(Source: NSW Government, visiting from overseas or interstate, checked 18 September 2026.)
The free service is shut to you
Australian citizens are not eligible for the Free Translating Service, whatever their circumstances.
So it is Multicultural NSW
With the consulate routes limited by country of issue, that leaves one paid option. Budget for it and start early.
Checked against the authorities’ own websites on 1 September 2026. If you need a document translated for something other than a NSW licence — a visa application, a birth certificate, a transcript — that is work we can do, and the rules are different.
Other states
Moving somewhere else instead?
Each state authority sets its own rules for overseas licences, and they differ more than most people expect. We keep a page for each, checked against the authority’s own wording. For the key words side by side, see what NAATI, certified and official mean for a licence.
Licence translation for Victoria
VicRoads asks for a translation by “any NAATI accredited translator or the country’s consulate in Australia”, and the path is the simplest of the three states.
Licence translation for Queensland
TMR asks for a translation from “an approved National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) translator”. What that means in practice, and the one question still open.
Or start from the overview: driver licence translation, with the NAATI option, every state on one page.
Visiting Australia and renting a car on your overseas licence? See what the rental companies and each state actually ask for. Just visiting NSW? The visitor rules, in the authority’s own words.