I am afraid to say that the driving test here is a joke. If you do it properly, learn the road codes, go for lessons and do it the right way, you have a 70% chance of passing the driving test the first time. But due to the long delays in getting a learners' licence and a driving test, some people (there are no statistics) go the short-cut route and "buy" their driving licence from a forger. It is not difficult to find one, and you have the choice of a regular licence to drive cars, one for busses, one for large lorries. About 30% of the drivers found to have caused a serious accident did not have a proper driving licence. Even more shocking is that some of the S A Police Service staff have "bought" licences. Questions were asked in Parliament about this and the figures were a revelation. This might explain why the Police, as an organisation, wreck or destroy more cars than any other public sector.
The Australian idea is a good one. If someone has been careful for a year and become used to it, chances are they will continue to do so.