Sydney: Outback police have arrested a 12-year-old boy who was almost a third of his way towards driving solo across Australia.

The unlicensed boy had driven more than 1,300km from his home in Kendall on the east coast when he was stopped by traffic police on Saturday on the Barrier Highway near the remote mining town of Broken Hill.

He was pulled over because a bumper bar was dragging on the road, a police statement said Sunday.

Police said he was driving to the west coast city of Perth, more than 4,100km from Kendall.

Police have released no details on why the boy wanted to drive the Perth, whether he would be charged or whether he had refuelled during his journey.