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Perth Now
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
New Driver and Vehicle Services centre confirmed for Perth
A new licensing centre will be built in Perth's south-east in an attempt to reduce customer frustration and wait times at other metropolitan centres, such as Cannington. Ahead of the State Budget being handed down tonight, the State Government confirmed $4 million would be set aside for a new Driver and Vehicle Services Centre in Armadale or Byford. The busy Cannington centre will also have its hours extended through July and August, as part of a two-month trial to provide more before and after-work opportunities for people to attend. The Cannington, City West and Mirrabooka centres will all be open from between 7.15am and 5.30pm rather than the normal 8.15am to 4.30pm timing. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Department of Transport customer support services assistant director Chad Simeons said wait times were already more than 6.5 minutes quicker now compared to 12 months ago and the latest trial could help even more. 'It's going to be really good for our customers and it's going to give working people more of an opportunity to come in before or after work,' he said. 'We're hoping to smooth out the transactions and that will hopefully lead to reduced wait times. 'It is a trial so we aren't certain what the outcomes will be but the idea is we're pulling some levers to make it easier for customers.' One in five visitors to the Cannington and Success centres are driving up to 40 minutes from the fast growing City of Armadale, City of Gosnells or Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale suburbs. Assistant Transport Minister Jessica Stojkovski said community and stakeholder consultation would help pick the most appropriate location. 'The Department of Transport has recently experienced rapid growth in demand for its services, particularly in the thriving south-east metro region, which is putting pressure on existing DVS centres and increasing wait times for customers,' she said. 'The Cook Government's election commitment of a new licensing centre in the Armadale/Byford area will provide better access to DoT services. much closer to home for those residents currently driving 30 to 40 minutes to attend another centre, such as Cannington or Success.' The services on offer at the new centre will include learner permit applications, theory and hazard perception tests, practical driving assessments, overseas driver's licence transfers and boat registrations.
ABC News
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
WA government to spend $4 million on new driver licensing centre to reduce significant wait times
It's hoped the construction of a new driver's licensing centre in Perth's south-east can make a dent in the significant wait times for people obtaining their permits across the city. The state government will spend $4 million on a new centre to service growing demand in the Armadale and Byford areas as part of an election commitment, but it is yet to determine the exact location. Locals must currently travel 30 to 40 minutes to access licensing services at centres in Cannington or Success. Driving services in WA have come under fire in recent years, following reports of participants having to wait months to sit a driving test. The Department of Transport was also forced to tighten security around test booking systems, following reports of people bulk booking and reselling test appointments. Assistant Transport Minister Jessica Stojkovski said progress had been made to address the concerns. 'One of the issues that we were finding were essentially bots were going on and booking up a lot of the driver assessment time slots,' she said. 'There's been a lot work done by the Department of Transport to stop that practice. 'We have actually seen really good availability around the metro area and into the regions for those driver assessments.' The Department of Transport's Chad Simeons agreed, saying it was possible to find test appointments within a week of booking. 'We've opened the Joondalup Centre which is a driver assessment centre, so that's helped a lot,' he said. 'We've put on new driver assessors as well, and in fact if I was to log on now and try and get a practical driving assessment, I can get one within a week, permitted I want to travel anywhere in the metropolitan area.' It's in addition to extended trading hours at the Cannington, Mirrabooka and City West centres, which will be open from 7.15am to 5.30pm on weekdays during an eight-week trial. No additional staff will be employed to accommodate the two-hour extension, but about 40 new positions have been created to assist with the increase in service demand. The same three centres last year completed a six-day trading trial with more than 12,800 people making use of the weekend hours. Mr Simeons said measures to relieve pressure on the industry have reduced average customer wait times from 26 minutes to 19 minutes in the past 12 months. Ms Stojkovski said an increase in interstate migration had contributed to the boom in demand. 'When somebody comes here from interstate they do actually need to transfer over their driver's licence,' she said. She said the state government would consider implementing extended hours elsewhere in WA as part of the trial evaluation. A construction or project completion date has yet to be set for the new licensing centre.
