The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is suggesting suspending learner and P-plate drivers' licences for 12 months if they are caught using mobile phones while driving.
The suggestion is among a range of tough penalties proposed in the association's just-released first paper on road safety.
AMA president Michael Gannon says younger drivers need to form good driving habits from the start.
"Although the call we have made for L-plate and P-plate drivers might sound harsh, driving is a responsibility, not a right, and it's important that new drivers learn good habits from the start."
Around nine in 10 road accidents are caused, at least in part, by human error.
The AMA says tougher penalties for drivers found using their phones, or other electronic devices, would help lower that statistic.
Michael Gannon says Australia's doctors are advocating what they call a "zero tolerance" approach to young drivers caught with phones in hand.
"It has to stop. There's a case for individual driver responsibility. And we're calling for action, for governments of different levels to try and reduce the burden of carnage due to road trauma."
The National Roads and Motorists Association, or NRMA, has backed the AMA's call.
The NRMA's Peter Khoury says the statistics regarding mobile-phone use while driving are of great concern.
"One in five people still text behind the wheel. The same number of people will still pick up the phone illegally and make a phone call. And that is why we are seeing the horrific road toll that we are."
Mr Khoury says the NRMA encourages drivers to put their phones out of reach while driving to reduce the distraction and any temptation to pick them up.
Sydney driving teacher Henry Naser says spreading awareness of Australia's laws regarding phone use is just as important as enforcing them, though.
Mr Naser introduces international drivers to Australia's roads through his Sydney-based company Safe-2-Drive.
He suggests information, in the form of pamphlets, be handed out at airports on arrival.
"People coming into a new country they haven't driven in before may not be aware of many things, so maybe a little pamphlet that they get given at the airport, or at the rental companies where they rent their cars, saying, 'We have zero tolerance in using mobile phones behind the wheel.'"
The Australian Medical Association is also calling for strict anti-fatigue logbooks to be made compulsory for professional drivers.
