Older New Zealanders renewing their driver licences will no longer face routine cognitive screening tests simply because of their age, according to expanded guidance issued by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. Seniors Minister Casey Costello welcomed the regulatory shift, which replaces mandatory blanket testing with tailored clinical evaluations.
The updated framework follows a comprehensive review commissioned by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and the Office for Seniors. Conducted by Professor Ngaire Kerse and Dr Ruth Teh of the University of Auckland’s Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, the evaluation found that current medical evidence does not support using general cognitive assessments as a standalone measure of driving safety for healthy older adults.
Licence Renewal Requirements and Medical Assessments
In New Zealand, a standard driver licence expires when a motorist turns 75, again at 80, and every two years thereafter. To maintain driving privileges, motorists must complete a medical assessment with a general practitioner or nurse practitioner. While these appointments are privately funded by patients, they evaluate overall physical health, medical history, eyesight, memory, and cognitive function.
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According to the University of Auckland review, widely utilized cognitive screens—such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini-ACE—measure broad thinking abilities but fail to accurately predict how an individual actually performs behind the wheel. The report noted that while dementia becomes significantly more common with age—affecting roughly 4 percent of individuals aged 60 and older and about 14 percent of those aged 80 and over—ageing alone is not a direct contributing factor to road crashes.
When Cognitive Screening Still Applies Under New Guidance
The new clinical guidance eliminates routine age-based testing, but it does not abolish cognitive evaluations entirely. Family doctors retain the discretion to administer a screening test if a specific clinical concern arises regarding a patient’s memory or thinking, or if the patient is unknown to the clinician and requires a baseline assessment.
When screening is deemed necessary, the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners recommends specific tools tailored to the patient:
- The Mini-ACE for most general situations.
- The MANA assessment for Māori patients aged 55 and older.
- The RUDAS tool when English is not the patient’s first language or literacy is limited.
- The Trail Making Test if initial screening points to an impairment affecting driving performance.
If clinical doubt remains regarding a motorist’s safety, physicians can direct patients to complete an on-road safety test administered by VTNZ, the Automobile Association (AA), or VINZ, or recommend a specialized occupational therapy driving assessment.
Advocacy and Implementation Across Regions
The policy change is the culmination of more than two years of advocacy by the seniors’ advocacy group Grey Power. Grey Power national president David Marshall noted that the reform brings much-needed common sense to the licensing process, preserving driving independence for older adults, particularly in rural communities where vehicles remain essential for everyday life.
Grey Power plans to monitor how consistently health authorities apply the new guidance across different regions. The Ministry of Health updated its clinical HealthPathways advice in July to align with the transport sector changes, culminating in Tuesday’s release of the college’s formal guidance.
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