Grants to put regional drivers on road to licensing success

• More than $3.3 million in grants awarded through Driving Access and Equity Program
• Ten community-based organisations across the Mid-West, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance area to receive support
• Program supports disadvantaged drivers through the licensing process
• A total of $6.8 million now delivered through the program

Ten community-based organisations across the Mid-West, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions will share in more than $3.3 million in grants through the McGowan Government's Driving Access and Equity Program (DAEP).

The program provides financial support to organisations helping disadvantaged drivers obtain their licence and improve their employability.

The Midwest Employment and Economic Development Aboriginal Corporation (MEEDAC) was one of three organisations in the Mid-West to receive a grant. The funding will help learner drivers across the Mid-West and Gascoyne complete their supervised driving hours, receive instruction, or to attempt a practical driving assessment.

Indigenous organisation Real Futures in the Gascoyne region will use their grant to deliver a driver support program led by local Indigenous people to support learner drivers in Carnarvon, Exmouth, Denham, Coral Bay, Gascoyne Junction and Burringurrah. The program will be integrated with the organisation's other support functions, providing a streamlined service to upskill jobseekers.

One of the six Goldfields-Esperance grant recipients includes the Warakurna Local Drug Action Group, who will provide driver education and instruction to young people from the remote Indigenous community of Warakurna, near the tri-state border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

The $3.3 million will support the purchase of 16 vehicles and is anticipated to support more than 800 learner's permits and probational licences being issued to disadvantaged drivers.

The total funding now administered through DAEP is $6.8 million, with $3.5 million provided to 12 Kimberley and Pilbara based organisations last year.

The funding provided to the 12 Kimberley and Pilbara based organisations has so far resulted in more than 1,000 hours of professional driving instruction and supervised driving, enabling 50 people to get their P-plates and 143 people their learner's permit.

For more information on the Driving Access and Equity Program, visit www.transport.wa.gov.au/daep

As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:

"The Driving Access and Equity Program is already achieving great outcomes in the Kimberley and Pilbara, and it's fantastic to see the expansion into the Mid-West, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions.

"The grants will give community-based organisations who have strong, positive relationships with disadvantaged people in their patch the resources to deliver driver education and training programs that are tailored to achieve results and set people on the path to future success.

"We know this program has the potential to change lives and we're seeing this happen in the Kimberley and Pilbara where the program rolled out last year, resulting in hundreds of people being supported through the licensing process.

"Those grant organisations helped deliver more than 1,000 hours of professional driving instruction and supervised driving, enabling 50 people to get their P-plates and 143 people their learner's permit - and the numbers are climbing.

"These latest grants to organisations in the Mid-West, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions are expected to result in more than 800 learner's permits and provisional licences being issued."

As stated by Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton:

"This is a fantastic State Government-funded program and to see it rolling out in the Mid-West is exciting for our community.

"I want to thank the successful organisations for the important work they do and encourage members of our community to take up this opportunity.

"I recently supported my daughter in obtaining her driver's licence, so I am aware of the costs faced by new learner drivers, the need of a suitable vehicle, and time that is required to log their hours - it is something that not everyone has available to them.

"This program will provide disadvantaged members of our community access to a licence and with it, help them hold down jobs, receive education and training, access health services and be better connected with their community."

As stated by Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent:

"Having access to a driver's licence is something many of us take for granted, but it's not a simple process for everyone.

"This program is going to help disadvantaged members of the Goldfields-Esperance community access a driver's licence, particularly those living in extremely remote locations.

"The program is already proving successful in other parts of the State, and I am confident we will see similar results through the Goldfields-Esperance."