JP's

1st up, I was told by the MVR in Darwin that I couldn't hold an Australian drivers licence if I was living outside Australia. After giving a bit of hassle they lamented and said they'd give me a max. of 1 year. So keep that in mind, in the end I just applied for a British licence which is very simple and reasonably quick to do. The UK licence is transferable once you get back to Australia, without needing to resit tests, etc.

If you Google you get a listing of the various areas and their JPs - it seems each region has a listing on where to find them, looks like usually your local district court.

I don't know the answer to your exact question, but...

The situation is different for each state.

For NSW licences, it says that when overseas, you have to have it witnessed by someone at the Australian consulate or their representative. I have had mine witnessed by the British Consulate when the closest Australian one was too far away, and they have been fine with this (although I phoned to ask first). [I was in Panama and the closest Aus consulate was Mexico]

I would assume that taking this route would be adequate for the requirements of your state also. You should check to make sure that they will post your licence to a temporary address overseas , however. You may also want to look into trading it in for a British one if you are going to be here for much longer (and it hasn't expired yet).

Thanks. I might just try and get it done at the Australian consulate. I'm based in London for the next six weeks so I should, fingers crossed, have enough time.

I'm pretty sure the UK equivelent is a Commisioner of Oaths. Just pop into any high street soliciters office and ask. Last time I had documents witnessed they charged £5 per copy.

I hope this doesn't mean you've been driving on an Oz licence for over a year

I had my divorce documents witnessed by consulate and it cost me like £10 PER SIGNATURE.

JPs exist in the UK too. Just turn up at a Magistrates Court on a day when they do witnessing - you'll have to enquire locally. Don't know if there's a charge or not.