A WA parliamentary question seeks data on truck driver licences, including language proficiency. The response indicates no specific language data is collected, but English competency is required for testing.

AnsweredQoN 633Legislative Council
Asked
18 September 2025
Portfolio
Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to truck drivers licenced in Western Australia (WA), and I ask: (a) how many truck drivers are licenced in WA, by category of licence; (b) is data kept on numbers of licence holders for which English is not the first language; (c) if yes to (b), how many in (a) are recorded as having a language other than English as the first language; (d) if no to (b), what data is kept on driver languages generally, if any; and (e) what English language competency tests or requirements exist in relation to truck driver licences in WA?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
21 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport
Response time
4 days
As per the answer previously provided to the Member’s Question Without Notice on Thursday 11 September 2025:
(a) Number of truck licence holders in Western Australia with highest category held as at 1 September 2025:
(b - d) The Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure does not capture or record a driver applicant’s first or other language details.
(e) Applicants for any class of driving authorisation must have sufficient English language skills to be able to undertake and pass either a computerised theory test or an oral theory test if required, where eligibility requires the applicant to complete and pass a theory test in the relevant class of licence.

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