State Government driver training program sees 40 per cent rise in Kimberley licence numbers

New data has revealed the number of people getting their driver’s licence in the Kimberley has increased by 40 per cent since mid-2021, thanks to a State Government-funded scheme aimed at making youth people more employable by improving access to driving instructors and vehicles in regional WA.

The Driving Access and Equity Program allocated a total of $3.5 million in funding to 12 organisations in the Kimberley and Pilbara since the scheme was announced in February, subsequently providing the regions with an additional 21 vehicles and increasing the number of instructors by 80 per cent.

In the Kimberley alone, 86 driver’s licences were issues in the first half of 2022 — a 40 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the program’s efforts in the North West have been a success.

“We are already seeing success in the Kimberley and the Pilbara and we are expanding it through the Gascoyne and the Mid West,” she said.

“This is about practical initiatives supporting regional WA.”

The scheme was established following the McGowan Government’s Skills Summits which highlighted the lack of access to driving services — including instructors and safe vehicles to learn in — was a key barrier for youth employment in regional and remote areas.

“Last year as part of understanding how we need to try to get more employment and more training opportunities in Western Australia, we identified the need for more people in remote and regional WA to get their driver’s licence,” Ms Saffioti said.

“We know that access to vehicles is hard and access to instructors is very difficult. There are simply not the support structures to enable people to get their required hours of training and access to vehicles.”

The program is currently being rolled out in the Mid West, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions.