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The Safer Drivers Course is one of the easiest ways for NSW learners under 25 to cut down their logbook hours. Here's who can do it, what's involved, and how it fits alongside driving lessons.
What is the Safer Drivers Course?
It's a short, government-backed course for learner drivers that focuses on the skills behind safe decisions on the road: managing speed, choosing safe gaps, spotting hazards, keeping a safe following distance and staying safe when distracted. Finishing it earns you 20 bonus hours of logbook credit.
Who can do it?
To enrol, you need to:
- Hold a current NSW learner licence
- Be under 25
- Have logged at least 50 hours of on-road driving, not counting any 3-for-1 bonus hours from instructor lessons
- Have some night driving among those hours
What's involved
- A 3-hour group discussion with other learners
- A 2-hour in-car coaching session, shared with another learner
- The two sessions can be on the same day or on different days, depending on the provider
How many logbook hours does it save?
Completing the course adds 20 hours to your logbook, and you can only claim it once. That leaves 100 hours of supervised driving instead of 120.
Combine it with the 3-for-1 bonus from driving lessons and the savings stack up: with the Safer Drivers Course and 10 hours of lessons with a licensed instructor, you need just 70 hours of supervised driving.
How the 3-for-1 lesson bonus worksCost and free places
The course costs $140, paid to the course provider. Each year, 1,000 free places go to eligible learners who hold a current Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or who are or were in out-of-home care. To claim one, complete the Safer Drivers Course Concession Application Form and include it with your supporting documents when you enrol.
Finding a course near Liverpool
Courses are run by approved providers, and you book directly with them. Search by postcode (such as 2170 for Liverpool) on the NSW Government's provider finder to see courses near you. We don't run the Safer Drivers Course ourselves.
How it fits with driving lessons
The course is about judgement and attitude, not car control, so it works best alongside regular practice. Lessons with a licensed instructor build the practical skills the driving test assesses, like smooth control, observation, roundabouts and parking, and your first 10 hours of lessons count triple in your logbook.
See our learner driver lessons