NSW Permanent Scheme to Reduce Demerit Points by One Per Year of Offence-Free Driving

Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026

17 Sep 2026: The second house is finishing its own detailed examination of this bill, possibly in committee, before a final vote.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

demerit points driver licensing driving offences road transport

Introduced by: The Hon Jenny Aitchison MP (ALP); The Hon John Graham MLC (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

A permanent demerit points reduction scheme is established: unrestricted licence holders who go a full year from 1 February without committing a relevant driving offence have one demerit point removed from their record.
The scheme applies only to people who have had a demerit point recorded against them in the past 3 years. Drivers with a fully clean record are unaffected.
The old demerit points reduction trial (which was temporary) is repealed. Drivers in a trial period that started before 1 February 2026 remain covered by the old trial rules for that period.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Natalie Ward LIB

“I speak in debate on the Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026. At the outset, I make clear that the Coalition supports rewarding drivers for safe behaviour on our roads. We support encouraging responsible driving and we support any genuine initiative that contributes to improving road safety outcomes for the people of New South Wales.”

Official source →

Cate Faehrmann GRN

“As The Greens’ spokesperson on transport, I speak in debate on the Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026 and say from the outset that we will not oppose the bill. It moves to make permanent what began as a trial—a demerit point reduction scheme that rewards drivers who go 12 months without committing an offence by removing a single demerit point from their record.”

Official source →

John Graham ALP

“They have both made valuable contributions to not only these debates but also the broader policy direction in New South Wales over time. I firstly refer to the scheme. To give members a sense of how many people have benefited from this popular scheme, during its first year 1.14 million drivers qualified to have a point deducted.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026

Jenny Aitchison MP, Minister for Regional Transport — 2026-02-10

The bill amends the Road Transport Act 2013 and the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2017 to allow Transport for NSW to permanently introduce the demerit point reward program. We essentially retain all the elements of the trial program as we make the program permanent. Those details, including eligible persons, relevant offences and the reduction period, will be contained within the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Regulation 2017. I go through those elements to make them clear. An eligible person, for the purposes of the program, is a person who has held an unrestricted driver licence of any class—either light or heavy vehicle—that has remained current throughout the duration of the 12-month offence-free period.