Why younger Australians are studying to drive later in life

Josh Lewin is just a few weeks shy of 18, however his milestone birthday won’t be celebrated with a visit to VicRoads to attempt for his P-plates (the minimal age for a Provisional 1 licence in Victoria is eighteen, and 17 in New South Wales).

“As I grew up I got caught up in sport and schoolwork, and especially because I’m in year 12 now, I just get really busy, so school is my priority,” he says.

Attending boarding faculty in Geelong and having mates with licences has additionally made it harder to build up the hours wanted to progress and decreased the inducement to be taught.

Mum Narelle says the supply and relative low-cost of ride-share apps has made issues simpler and given her peace of thoughts.

“We live in the city, though he doesn’t catch a lot of public transport, he just jumps in an Uber to get back from boarding school,” she says.

“Sometimes I think he’s a little bit safer in an Uber than him driving or taking public transport home.”

Once a ceremony of passage – and marker of independence – Gen Z and Millennials are more and more selecting to stay passengers for longer into maturity.

For the previous few a long time, researchers have seen that teenagers within the United States, Canada and Europe are waiting longer to get their licence.

In Australia, information additionally displays this downward development, though the shift is much less pronounced – the proportion of these under 25 who hold some form of licence has remained comparatively secure over the previous few a long time.

In 2005, nearly 14 per cent of NSW youth below 25 held a P1 licence, in comparison with simply over 10 per cent in 2024. Analysis of youth licensing in Victoria from the previous decade displays the same development. With the youngest Gen Z being 14 in 2026, a extra profound shift will take time to indicate up in information.

Like Lewin, 17-year-old Diya Asthana is in no hurry to get her licence.

“By my 16th birthday, I had already finished the test [for a learner driver licence], you look forward to it as part of your birthday, it’s definitely a rite of passage” she says.

But within the time since, she’s discovered a demanding research schedule alongside a busy roster of extracurriculars and social occasions have made accumulating the 120 hours of expertise required tough.

While counting on public transport might be irritating, residing in inside Melbourne makes getting round handy. Whether she shifts into gear after her yr 12 exams to get her licence relies on the place she goes to college and if she continues residing at house.

While Asthana’s mum Molina says driving her daughter round for varsity commitments might be tough, versatile work hours make issues simpler.

“I can imagine for parents who are working full-time, it would be more of a commitment”

But for security causes, Molina is intentional about choosing Asthana up if she’s out late at college or a pal’s home.

Alexa Delbosc, an affiliate professor on the Institute of Transport Studies at Monash University, ties waning youth licensing charges into broader generational developments, with Gen Z and Millennials ready longer to marry, have children and purchase their first house.

When Delbosc began learning youth driving developments within the 2010s, large modifications to licence necessities – primarily round hours required for learners under 25 – had just lately come into impact. She thinks these stricter guidelines made studying to drive much less interesting for teenagers, with many merely ready till after 25.

Still, she factors out most younger individuals aren’t foregoing driving fully – simply delaying it.

And for a major chunk – significantly these in rural and suburban areas, or school-leavers whose job requires a automotive – getting a licence stays a precedence.

Social context issues too: A recent US study utilizing nationally consultant information from Gen Z and Millennials discovered family revenue and whether or not different family members had a licence to be vital figuring out components.

Indeed, Delbosc thinks the rising price of automotive possession – and proven fact that most individuals are beginning post-graduate jobs later – could also be at play too.

Noor Sheerazi has been an NRMA driver coach for 14 years and says in that point the overall age of most learner drivers she teaches has shifted from teenagers to early 20s, as she thinks younger individuals need to deal with ending faculty first.

Generally talking, she finds driving anxiousness to extend with age.

“I’ve noticed older learner drivers now are more concerned about safety [compared to younger learners], maybe because we’ve had more crashes on the road, and they listen to the news a lot,” she says.

Feelings of embarrassment are additionally frequent amongst older learners, says Sheerazi, significantly in the event that they take just a few tries to move a take a look at.

Growing up in Hong Kong, 36-year-old Ken Denis Smith by no means actually thought of studying to drive, given the town’s expansive public transport system.

When he moved to Wollongong for college in 2012, the thought nonetheless didn’t cross his thoughts.

It wasn’t till 2024, in his early 30s, that the inconvenience of not having a licence actually began to grate.

“There were a couple of instances where I felt almost trapped in my personal life, like certain personal emergencies would happen,” he says, like when his canine wanted to be taken to the vet.

“At the beginning, it was quite exciting but also scary. I think if I had done it when I was younger, I probably would’ve been a little bit more fearless.”

“I still get panicky, especially living in Sydney where the roads are narrower and the drivers admittedly are a bit more aggressive, it’s a little daunting.”

When Asthana ultimately will get her licence, she’s wanting ahead to taking a highway journey with mates. And, in fact respecting a time-honoured custom: the Maccas drive-thru.

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