Roads minister Duncan Gay said the changes, which would involve a half-day professional driving course, would avoid learners and parents fudging hours in log books.

‘‘For too long governments have taken the opportunity, if there’s an accident somewhere, to automatically add extra hours to the learner’s permit time,’’ he said.

‘‘(This) stops parents and children currently becoming criminals because 120 hours is just way too much.’’

A board of independent road safety experts and an advisory panel will be set up to make recommendations on the course, which is expected to combine classroom and in-vehicle exercises.

Mr Gay said the cost of the course would be affordable and will go for about half a day.

Extra hours could also be cut if a learner takes part in more driving courses.

‘‘Further options to assist learner licence holders in remote, lower socio-economic and Aboriginal communities meet learner driver log book hours will also be considered,’’ Mr Gay said.

Youth advocacy group Youth Action and Policy Association (YAPA) NSW welcomed the changes.

YAPA policy director Eamon Waterford said too many young people struggle to meet the requirement of 120 hours on their Ls.

‘‘One of the biggest issues is cost,’’ he said.

‘‘If a young person’s parents are working or don’t drive themselves, or the young person is in out of home care, 120 hour-long lessons at $60 a pop puts driving out of the range of most young people.

‘‘By converting 20 hours of driving into an intense one-day course, we are going to see more young people able to access education and employment through having their licence.’’