Driving licence and vehicles

Australia country dossier

Comprehensive information on living and working in Australia.

Services

Contact the local Swiss representative or consulate when you have moved to the Consular District of this Consulate General and want to register or unregister as a resident, when you need a new passport, have moved or changed contact details or wish to apply for Swiss citizenship. The entire selection of services offered can be found in the dropdown menu to the right.

Swiss citizens who get into difficulties abroad can also ask for advice and help from the Swiss representative.

The magazine for the Swiss Abroad appears six times a year and provides information about what is happening at home and the activities of Swiss associations abroad. It also answers administrative questions.

Online desk FDFA

Using the FDFA’s online consular services while abroad.

The relevant Swiss representation abroad can answer any questions concerning the FDFA’s online desk.

If you are planning to leave Switzerland and move abroad, or you have already done so, this page explains the steps you need to take with regard to your Swiss vehicle registration document and Swiss number plates, as well as the requirements you need to meet in order to drive on your Swiss licence in other countries. It also explains under what conditions you may drive in Switzerland on a foreign licence.

Using a Swiss Driver License in Australia

If you are holding an appropriate Swiss driver license (size of a credit card) you are usually allowed to drive and rent a car/van in Australia if you carry an English translation of the Swiss driver license.

The translation can be printed from here (PDF, 9 Pages, 312.6 kB, English)

If you hold an old blue Swiss Driver License, people registered in Switzerland can get an “International Driver License” from the relevant "Strassenverkehrsamt / Office de circulation / Servizio della circolazione" in Switzerland.

More specific information on that topic can be found on the following Australian websites:

It is recommended to contact the car rental company from which you are going to rent your car to verify if the categories listed on your license allow you to rent f.eg. a camping van.

Driver's license to become more forgery-proof
A new driver's license in credit card format will be introduced in mid-April 2023. This will be more forgery-proof than the current driver's license and will have a more modern design. The Association of Road Traffic Offices presents the design of the new driver's license on the webpage: www.asa.ch

Today's driver's licenses in credit card format will continue to be valid without restriction. So anyone who already has a driver's license does not have to do anything. If desired, however, they can exchange it for a fee at the road traffic office in their canton of residence. Anyone who orders a driver's license from mid-April 2023 will receive the new driver's license in credit card format. The new driver's license will have no effect on driving privileges.

Important: Anyone who still has a blue paper blue driver's license will soon have to exchange it. From 2024, the blue driver's license will lose its validity. The Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and the cantonal road traffic offices will provide information about the exchange and the deadlines in the coming weeks.