Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan): My constituency question is directed to the Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Honourable Ben Carroll MP. The COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted all our lives, and the most impacted have been our young Victorians. They lost two years of their formative time. Many missed out on getting their drivers licences. Tests are back, but many young Victorians are still not able to book a test. Currently the waiting period to book a test is almost two months across most centres in Victoria. Young Victorians who are eager to get their drivers licences are feeling disappointed and desperate as they have to depend on family members to move around. This puts a pause on everything they need to do. My question to the minister is: can the minister advise what action the Victorian government is taking to reduce the long waiting periods and to speed up the booking process for driving tests?
Reply:
Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Public Transport, Minister for Roads and Road Safety (06/07/2022):
In June 2021, the Andrews Labor Government launched the Learner Permit Test Online which is a new online and interactive competency-based and modularised test that teaches learner drivers about the road rules to follow when driving in Victoria and important ways they can develop safe driving behaviours.
To date, more than 157,000 enrolments have occurred in the new Online Learner test, which have been translated into 107,000 successfully completed tests and 77,600 permits issued.
In September 2021, the Andrews Labor Government launched the online Hazard test which is a computer-based test that assesses a driver’s ability to recognise and respond to potential hazards in the safest way possible, focusing on scenarios where probationary drivers are more likely to be involved in a crash.
With 87,600 enrolments on the online hazard test with 77,500 successful completions.
In addition to the Learner Permit Test Online (LPTO) and the Hazard Perception Test Online (HPTO), VicRoads have further alleviated the need for customers to visit a customer service centre by enhancing our digital capability and enabling 15 key online services.