- Department of Transport to open selected DVS centres on Saturdays in a bid to clear customer backlogs
- The eight week blitz aims to reduce customer wait times
- Follows success of Saturday opening hours at Joondalup Driver Assessment Centre
The Department of Transport (DoT) will open three selected Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) centres on Saturdays in a blitz to reduce extended wait times and ease ongoing pressure on customers and staff at metro centres.
In recent months, metro DVS centres have experienced high customer numbers with wait times for services growing considerably due to several factors including:
- high levels of interstate and overseas migration to WA resulting in more complex transactions in centres including driver's licence and vehicle transfers;
- increased number of customers attending centres for transactions that can be processed online or at a participating Australia Post outlet; and
- a challenging job market impacting the recruitment and retention of staff.
From 8 June, DoT will open the City West, Cannington and Mirrabooka DVS centres on Saturdays, processing driver and vehicle transactions from 7.15am to 2.15pm for a period of eight weeks. Practical driving assessments (PDAs), marine, dealer and NDIS transactions will not be conducted during Saturday opening hours.
The Joondalup and Kelmscott Driver Assessment Centres will continue to operate on Saturdays, with Joondalup offering PDAs by appointment and driver transactions while Kelmscott will offer PDAs by appointment only.
The Joondalup Driver Assessment Centre opened on 27 November 2023 and is open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, providing PDAs and driver transactions including learner's permits, WA photocard applications, learner's permit theory tests, hazard perception tests, and interstate and overseas licence transfers.
In the first six months of operation, DoT staff at Joondalup have processed nearly 30,000 transactions such as:
- conducting more than 10,000 practical driving assessments;
- issuing 6,922 new learner's permits;
- conducted 6,236 computerised theory and hazard perception tests; and
- processed 2,399 interstate and overseas driver licence transfers.
DoT is continuing to develop and implement more customer service improvements, including further staff recruitment, communications around digital and alternative solutions to attending centres, solutions to reduce the number of vehicle dealers attending DVS centres, longer-term investment in improved business information systems and accommodation options for more centres and service points in the metro area.
As stated by Minister Assisting the Transport Minister David Michael:
"The success of Saturday opening hours at the Joondalup Driver Assessment Centre indicates that customers would welcome more centres offering driver and vehicle transactions on Saturdays.
"A number of factors have contributed to the increased wait times for customers in centres over recent months, despite the time taken to complete transactions in centres remaining consistent.
"I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of the DVS centre staff, and the patience of their customers, during this period of high demand.
"DoT will continue to investigate ways to improve service through extended trading hours, continued recruitment and educating customers about digital and alternative solutions to attending a DVS centre."
