L-plate

An L-plate is a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction, or a motorcycle rider with provisional entitlement to ride restricted motorcycles.

In Australia the rules vary from state to state. A new driver holds a Learner licence/permit which has a minimum age of 16 or 15 and 9 months in some areas. This must then be held for a certain amount of time before a driving examination can be undertaken usually 12 months later. After passing the driver must display 'P' plates. Holders of a provisional/probationary licence may be restricted compared to fully licensed drivers in speed, blood alcohol limits, limits on the type and power of their car's engine (i.e., no more than 6 cylinders, no forced induction), and number of demerit points that can be deducted.VicRoads, the Victorian road authority, publish information for learner drivers on the L-Site.

Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) first commenced in Australia in the mid-1960s with New South Wales introducing learner and provisional licences in 1966. In all states, newly licensed drivers are required by law to display P-plates for varying lengths of time. The P is usually a red or green letter on a white background or a white letter on a red or green background (Victoria and Western Australia only). In New South Wales and Victoria there are two classes of provisional licence, red P-plates are for the first year after passing the Learner test and then after passing a computerised test they are green for two to three years. Western Australia requires six months of red P-plates, where provisional drivers are under a 12 am–5 am curfew, and one and a half years of green P-plates.

On 1 July 2000, New South Wales introduced a three-stage Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS):

On 1 July 2010, Victoria introduced the Graduated Licensing Systems (GLS).

As of July 2007, newly issued Queensland drivers licences have new restrictions for those under 25. Learners must first log 100 hours of driving experience (of which 10 must be undertaken at night) before taking their practical driving examination. Learners can boost this experience by taking professional lessons which counts for 3 times the hours, for up to 10 hours (or 30 logbook hours.) After a period of one year provisional drivers must then pass a hazard-perception test to move from red to green P-Plates where previously only a 3-year duration was required. New restrictions also prevent any under-25, Queensland provisional licence-holder from carrying more than one passenger under the age of 21, who is not an immediate family member, between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am.

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