Thursday, 19 February 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:42): (2346) My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Our youngest of three turned 18 over summer and got his probationary drivers licence, so we are entering the next chapter as parents, but I have not forgotten about the many parents and young people across the region that would like to see Victoria come into line with every other state and territory in Australia and lower the probationary drivers licence age to 17. It is a different world where he can get to work, sport and training without one of us to drive him around, because we live in a regional area where there is no public transport. Last year our son had completed the 120 hours of driver training but missed out on work shifts and other activities simply because no-one was able to take him. It is a common story that I have heard from families across northern Victoria and across the state. Some live on farms where their kids have been driving for years, others want to take up an apprenticeship but need a licence to get there, and young people who live on the border need to wait a year longer than their classmates. This issue was raised with me again last night by a resident of Castlemaine who supports the idea of separating the drivers licence age from the legal drinking age as a wise decision that would help young people develop good driving habits.

I have raised this issue several times and note the minister’s response that the government believes that reducing the minimum drivers licence age would not be in the community’s best interests and that young people aged 18 to 25 account for a higher number of accidents. But that is consistent with data we see right across other states as well, where the minimum driving age is 17. Driver maturity and sufficient on-road experience are important, but in Victoria you need to do more training to become a barista than you do to get your drivers licence. I encourage the minister to consider the driver training incentives in other states like New South Wales and the St John driver first aid program in the ACT.

As a parent of three kids who all now are on P-plates and someone whose family knows the pain of losing a loved one on the road, I am aware of the risks and the responsibility we all have at any age to drive safely every time we get behind a wheel. But this restriction on the driving age, which is unique to Victoria, needs to change. A parliamentary inquiry in November 2017 examined the issue in detail. The Law Reform, Road and Community Safety Committee heard from experts and received over 100 submissions, and they recommended lowering Victoria’s P-plate driving age to 17. It is also worth noting that in Victoria you can get a full marine licence at 16 years of age and you can get a private pilot licence at age 17. In Victoria change is long overdue, and the action I seek is for the minister to bring Victoria into line with every other state and reduce the minimum driving age to 17.