in australia to get your licence is a serious pain in the but!
when you are 16 and 9 months of age, you can go for your L's (learners permit). To get this you have to go to the RTA (road and traffic authority) and sit a test that is 50 questions long. you can only get 1 wrong.
If you get your L's you have to be on them for a compulsory 6 months. During this 6 month time period, you can only drive with someone who has their full licence. You must keep a log book the RTA gives you and you gotta tell them how long you drove far, how far, the weather, traffic conditions etc etc...
after that you go and do an actual driving test in the car with an RTA inspector. This puts you on your red P's (provisional licence) You can drive on your own, but you cant go faster than 90km/h and there is a curfew, you have to be home by 11pm. The red P's go for 1.5 years.
After that you do another knowlegde test similar to the test to get your L's licence. After that you get your green P's which you have to be on for 2 year. Speed limit of 100km/h applies but the curfew is dropped.
After the 2 years you get your silver licence where there is no speed limit given. You are on the silver licence for 4 years. You are givin 6 points. If you lose them your back to the start...
after all that, if you pass everything you are given your gold licence which is pretty much like your silver one except you have 12 points not 6.
so if here in sydney you get your licence when your exactly 16 and 9 months old, and you pass every driving exam blah blah you wont get your full licence until your 26 and 9 months old.... yes...its crap