A licence bonus has been delivered to million drivers who remained offence-free on the road over the past 12 months. The reward for their contribution to safety on the roads is a demerit point scrubbed from their licence.
The results of the second year of the Minns Labor Government’s demerit point return scheme show drivers in car-reliant areas of Western Sydney and regional NSW are the biggest beneficiaries this year.
The scheme provides a rare ‘carrot’ for people to drive safely as a counterbalance to the longstanding ‘stick’ of fines, double demerits and the loss of licence.
1.5 million eligible drivers
Almost 1.5 million drivers were eligible to have a demerit point removed when the second year of the trial started on January 17, with just over one million drivers (1,003,610) remaining offence-free.
There are now more than 420,000 drivers who have had a demerit point wiped two years running.
Topping the list of suburbs was Blacktown where more than 6,000 drivers are getting a point wiped. Castle Hill, Merrylands, Auburn, and Maroubra round out the top five suburbs, each with 4,500 or more drivers to benefit.
Regional drivers were also doing the right thing in great numbers with motorists in Orange, Dubbo, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour notching up over 16,000 demerit points removed.
Motorists will begin to see their licence demerit tally updated from the second quarter of 2025.
Date adjusted for 2026
As the scheme enters its third year, the NSW Government is making an important adjustment to the end date of the 12-month period which will in future run to 31 January starting in 2026.
This means that drivers who are close to benefiting with a point will need to drive safely and offence-free throughout the critical month of January which has in the past been marred by holiday crashes and deaths.
There are 1,483,926 drivers eligible to benefit if they stay within the rules until 31 January 2026.
New road safety measures
The NSW Government introduced a range of new road safety measures in 2024 which will continue or expand in 2025. They include:
• The trial of average speed cameras for light vehicles in 2025
• Doubling roadside enforcement sites used for mobile speed cameras, with an additional 2,700 new sites where a camera can be deployed. Total enforcement hours will remain the same
• Seatbelt enforcement via the state’s existing mobile phone cameras
• Removing a loophole to force all motorists driving on a foreign licence to convert to a NSW licence within six months
• Implementing recommendations from the Demerit Point Integrity Taskforce to stamp out rorting of the system by mainly visiting foreign nationals
• Releasing more ratings for bicycle helmets as part of the star rating system
• Signing the National Road Safety Data Agreement with the Commonwealth
The demerit point reward scheme is open to eligible unrestricted and professional licence holders with active demerit points.
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