I realise you're in QLD, but speaking for how it works here in NSW, you accumulate demerit points for committing various offences (speeding, running red lights etc) and these offences are recorded as having happened on a particular date. Each offence is kept on your record for a period of 3 years from when it was committed. At any point in time you have a license which lets you have a certain number of points before you are suspended (4 for P1, 7 for P2, 12 for fulls), and if at any point in time you have more points on your record than you are allowed before being suspended, you lose your licence.
I guess the short answer is, your points aren't actually linked to your license at all, they are linked to YOU, your license just defines how many you can get before you're suspended. They "reset" three years after you get them, nothing to do with getting a new license etc.