❓ The WA government is opening a new driver assessment centre in Joondalup and implementing measures to increase the availability of practical driving assessments, including online services and a public awareness campaign.
AnsweredQoN 531Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
JOONDALUP DRIVER AND
VEHICLE SERVICES CENTRE
531. Ms E.L. HAMILTON to the Minister assisting the Minister
for Transport:
I refer to the measures taken by the
Cook Labor government to increase the availability of bookings for driving
assessments.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what action has been taken to make it easier for
learner drivers to take their practical driving assessments?
(2) Can the
minister update the house how this government is increasing capacity for
driving assessments in Perth's northern suburbs?
VEHICLE SERVICES CENTRE
531. Ms E.L. HAMILTON to the Minister assisting the Minister
for Transport:
I refer to the measures taken by the
Cook Labor government to increase the availability of bookings for driving
assessments.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house what action has been taken to make it easier for
learner drivers to take their practical driving assessments?
(2) Can the
minister update the house how this government is increasing capacity for
driving assessments in Perth's northern suburbs?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Joondalup for
that excellent question and for her and members of the North Metropolitan
Region's continued advocacy on this issue on behalf of their
constituents. I am told that the member had a petition with 1 500 locals
contacting her office about this issue.
(1)–(2) We
all know the demand for practical driving assessments in WA is very high. The
government continues to look at all options
to alleviate the current pressure on the system. I am very excited and pleased
that earlier today I was able to join the Minister for Transport to
announce that the Cook Labor government will open a dedicated driver assessment centre in Joondalup in November. The
Joondalup centre will provide practical driving assessments for all
classes, including C-class, aged and over 55s, heavy vehicles and motorcycles. Customers will also be able to transfer interstate
and international drivers' licences at the new centre. What is
more, the Joondalup driver assessment centre will be open six days a week,
Monday to Saturday, from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm, which will help people, especially
young people, who work during the week. An additional eight customer service
staff will also come onboard to assist customers when applying for their
learner's permit or WA photo card, sitting their theory and hazard
perception test, and to issue provisional licences when learner drivers pass
their test. I am also pleased to advise the house that the Department of
Transport will recruit an extra 24 driver assessors to be based at the
Joondalup centre. With more driver assessors available, it is expected around
130 practical driver assessments will be delivered at Joondalup each day, in
addition to the PDAs already being carried out around our state. The opening of
the Joondalup site is the government's latest measure to improve the
availability of these assessments, and will help deliver about 35 000
additional assessment slots each year.
The move online of DoT Direct for
learners and licence class upgrades has increased customer security and proven
to be very popular. Customers are signing up to the self-service portal in the
tens of thousands. There were 18 600 DoT Direct sign-ups in June, and a record-breaking
30 900 sign-ups in July. Customer service
officers have assisted nearly 6 000 new learner drivers with signing up to DoT
Direct at a document verification service centre or agent. In total,
that is a sign-up rate of 88 per cent of the total number of new learner
drivers, reapplications and licence variations. Since the PDA bookings have
moved behind DoT Direct, a search limit was implemented to stop bots from
sweeping the system to bulk book available tests.
There has been a major improvement in security. I am told that those bots have
almost gone to zero in the system. More tests are available, improving
the customer experience, and we are now releasing an average of 370 PDAs a day.
Those PDAs are being released into the system during the day, not just at nine o'clock in the morning. I am told
that quite frequently at the end of a business day there are still spots left in the system that people can access. A minimum of 41 assessments are
being booked by the overseas driver's licence holder call centre daily.
In total, 410 PDAs are made available to our customers via the online booking
system in the overseas driver licence holder call centre every day. Another
initiative is a campaign under development
that might alleviate the need for learner drivers to come back for repeat tests .
I have said before that I got mine on the third go. I would like to thank Terry
from Warwick Police Station in 1998 for that one! The smart lane campaign will
focus on the importance of being well prepared for a practical driving assessment. I am told that 70 per cent of drivers
who go for their first test fail. Some of them are not ready to have
their first test. The new campaign will give learners the best chance at
passing that first test, and provide advice on navigating the learner driver
journey.
The work I have outlined to ease the
pressure on driver vehicle service centres is an example of the Cook government listening to local communities about
their needs. I look forward to many of those learner drivers passing
their tests soon.
that excellent question and for her and members of the North Metropolitan
Region's continued advocacy on this issue on behalf of their
constituents. I am told that the member had a petition with 1 500 locals
contacting her office about this issue.
(1)–(2) We
all know the demand for practical driving assessments in WA is very high. The
government continues to look at all options
to alleviate the current pressure on the system. I am very excited and pleased
that earlier today I was able to join the Minister for Transport to
announce that the Cook Labor government will open a dedicated driver assessment centre in Joondalup in November. The
Joondalup centre will provide practical driving assessments for all
classes, including C-class, aged and over 55s, heavy vehicles and motorcycles. Customers will also be able to transfer interstate
and international drivers' licences at the new centre. What is
more, the Joondalup driver assessment centre will be open six days a week,
Monday to Saturday, from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm, which will help people, especially
young people, who work during the week. An additional eight customer service
staff will also come onboard to assist customers when applying for their
learner's permit or WA photo card, sitting their theory and hazard
perception test, and to issue provisional licences when learner drivers pass
their test. I am also pleased to advise the house that the Department of
Transport will recruit an extra 24 driver assessors to be based at the
Joondalup centre. With more driver assessors available, it is expected around
130 practical driver assessments will be delivered at Joondalup each day, in
addition to the PDAs already being carried out around our state. The opening of
the Joondalup site is the government's latest measure to improve the
availability of these assessments, and will help deliver about 35 000
additional assessment slots each year.
The move online of DoT Direct for
learners and licence class upgrades has increased customer security and proven
to be very popular. Customers are signing up to the self-service portal in the
tens of thousands. There were 18 600 DoT Direct sign-ups in June, and a record-breaking
30 900 sign-ups in July. Customer service
officers have assisted nearly 6 000 new learner drivers with signing up to DoT
Direct at a document verification service centre or agent. In total,
that is a sign-up rate of 88 per cent of the total number of new learner
drivers, reapplications and licence variations. Since the PDA bookings have
moved behind DoT Direct, a search limit was implemented to stop bots from
sweeping the system to bulk book available tests.
There has been a major improvement in security. I am told that those bots have
almost gone to zero in the system. More tests are available, improving
the customer experience, and we are now releasing an average of 370 PDAs a day.
Those PDAs are being released into the system during the day, not just at nine o'clock in the morning. I am told
that quite frequently at the end of a business day there are still spots left in the system that people can access. A minimum of 41 assessments are
being booked by the overseas driver's licence holder call centre daily.
In total, 410 PDAs are made available to our customers via the online booking
system in the overseas driver licence holder call centre every day. Another
initiative is a campaign under development
that might alleviate the need for learner drivers to come back for repeat tests .
I have said before that I got mine on the third go. I would like to thank Terry
from Warwick Police Station in 1998 for that one! The smart lane campaign will
focus on the importance of being well prepared for a practical driving assessment. I am told that 70 per cent of drivers
who go for their first test fail. Some of them are not ready to have
their first test. The new campaign will give learners the best chance at
passing that first test, and provide advice on navigating the learner driver
journey.
The work I have outlined to ease the
pressure on driver vehicle service centres is an example of the Cook government listening to local communities about
their needs. I look forward to many of those learner drivers passing
their tests soon.
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