Victoria to let learner drivers earn their permits online

Wannabe learner drivers will be allowed to conduct their learner permit test online from early 2021, in a bid to reduce the large backlog of VicRoads test appointments caused by coronavirus delays.

Changes to the testing regime will cost tax payers $26.8 million dollars and will include a new computer-based online test for would-be learner drivers to complete before they’re set upon the road network.

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VicRoads will also refund 80,000 $19 appointment fees that were held over the coronavirus lockdown period, with new applications fees waived too.

A number of VicRoads branches have already been equipped to deal with the online tests, ahead of wider roll-out.

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"We know it's a milestone event, getting your identification, but also getting behind the wheel for the very first time," Victorian minister for roads Ben Carroll told media at the Victorian daily coronavirus briefing.

"And we want to make sure that we support every young Victorian to get back behind the wheel safely and securely."

Not only do the changes to the Victorian learner permit scheme aim to combat the disruption brought about by COVID-19, Carroll said it will also bring licence testing into the 21st century.

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Though, counterintuitively, learner drivers will still have to attend a physical VicRoads branch to have their identification photo taken and to complete an eye test.

Even still, the government is confident that these changes will result in a tripling in capacity for licencing and testing.

Victoria is now the only state in the country that allows for an online learner permit test.