Tighter restrictions for L and P licence holders due in 2020

P1 drivers will no longer be legally able to carry more than one passenger aged 16 - 21, L1 drivers will be required to complete 30 logbook driving hours, L2 licence holders will have to complete 15 hours of night time driving, and L2 drivers will have to pass a new hazard test to progress to their Ps, under the new system.

It will also be illegal for learner and provisional licence holders to use a mobile phone, including hands free.

The restrictions overhaul will bring the state in line with national best practice, in the first changes to the Tasmanian Graduate Licencing System since 2009.

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Minister for Infrastructure Jeremy Rockliff said the new rules would lower the "unacceptable, tragic" number of deaths involving learner and provisional drivers on Tasmanian roads.

"Between 2008 and 2018 there were 528 serious injuries or deaths from young people on our roads in Tasmania," he said.

"We need to do all we can to ensure that our young people drive so that others survive, and so that they survive."

RACT and Tasmania Police have both welcomed the changes.

However, the Tasmanian Council of Social Services said measures must be put in place to ensure the restrictions didn't create insurmountable barriers for disadvantaged learner and provisional drivers.

Rule changes for learner and provisional drivers will make the roads safer but they could also have an unintended consequence, according to two independent bodies.

Tasmanian Council of Social Services chief executive Kym Goodes, with Youth Network of Tasmania chief executive Tania Hunt, said stricter rules could make it harder for disadvantaged young people to get a licence at all.

"We applaud the changes announced today for beginning to bring Tasmania's driver licensing requirements into line with other states," they said.

"However evidence tells us these changes will severely impact young drivers in particular and those in areas with poor access to public transport.

"Only 63 per cent of young Tasmanians have a drivers licence, and Tasmania's wealthiest suburbs have higher rates of young people with licences than Tasmania's poorest suburbs - which are often the same suburbs under-serviced by public transport."

The state government is backing the Driver Mentoring Tasmania program as a solution, which offers free accompanied driving hours with a volunteer mentor to disadvantaged drivers.

They are calling for volunteers to put their hands up and mentor young drivers who do not have access to a fully licenced driver.

There is currently a waitlist to access the program due to a lack of mentors, state coordinator Garry O'Byrne said.

Minister for Infrastructure Jeremy Rockliff also committed to backing an independent study of the barriers between some sections of the community and a full drivers licence.

See drivermentoringtasmania.org.au to find out more about the program.