Labor Government has announced a new package that offers free online licence testing in addition to dropping charges to getting your Ls and Ps.
Learners will save up to $51.40 in learner licensing and testing fees.
Probationary Drivers will save up to $133.30 in the HPT and Licensing fee.
Starts August.
Are cars free too?
Right, because nobody needs a licence/car for work. Also, people gaining their licences does not necessarily equate to more cars on the road, as older people will lose their licences (or die) at a similar rate, so the net number of licence holders remains about the same.
Let me guess, you don't have a car….
I mean you need license for car sharing, work etc.
How else will I click and collect to save on shipping fees?
I wish we had less car dependency. More PT options. Those that wanna drive, can. Those that wanna walk will have nicer walks due to less car noise and hostile walking environments, and more available and frequent PT options.
It really is so stupid how we designed our towns.
Towns were never designed…thats the problem. Ships landed in Sydney/Brisbane/Melb etc and those cities just expanded from there… no planning.. few hundred years later nothing has changed and its too late to "plan" them now.
I noticed this when I visited Hiroshima. The part which had to be completely rebuilt, looks like it was well planned out (with cars, trains, etc in mind).
I'd say the urban sprawl is a design following a plan. It's just not a very good one.
The roots of it go back hundreds of years, to stifle protests by removing town squares, and by appeasing special interest groups that now have policies to keep themselves relevant (auto industry)
You live in a 20m populated country where its land is large as the states.
Entitled at its finest?
Username checks out
I SORT OF agree with you imnobody - I think licensing requirements are already too lax.
If you make it free, incompetent drivers are just going to keep retaking these tests until they luck out.
I personally think it should be more difficult for people to sit a test and get a license, not easier.
EDIT: I'm in NSW though, not sure about the VIC situation but I can't imagine it's much different there.
Not really. There are still other mechanisms in place like the log books and practical driving tests.
VIC is different to NSW in that if you do it online, they force a mandatory 4-6 hour online education course to you. Most people learn questions and answers from a PDF file and keep testing themselves on the free practice test anyway. Better getting the proper education of road rules as opposed to people learning questions and answers.
There was a show I saw.. 100 years ago there was excellent public transport but then the car industry got rid of it… and forced everyone to buy cars. Cars are a scam…
https://www.vrhistory.com/VRMaps/Vic1920.pdf
I'm pretty certain that some of the train lines still exist and if not, were replaced by busses. But I wasn't there 100 years ago so I will ave to take your word for it
Conspiracy theories at their finest. Public transport other than trains was horse drawn, with mountains of poo to clean out every day.
VicRoads to be partly privatised for $7.9 billion
Aware Super, Australian Retirement Trust and Macquarie Asset Management will run licensing and registration for 40 years.
Uh oh!
Exactly why the f#%k would you privatise another monopoly…
It's not like there are competitors that will drive down the cost and derive efficiencies through competition.
Your only option to register a car or get a license as a Victorian is to pay VicRoads and now you'll be paying Macquaries profit margin on top. :(
Dude these bureaucrats never runs a successful profitable ice cream truck, I dont understand why they allow to runs a country/government entities … -_-
The public don’t exactly want an essential service to be a profit machine. Do you want to pay $20k for a night in hospital?
Watch the toll roads magically increase
The toll roads are already privatised
Ugh this is such a bad idea :( why would they do this
Great! Now the lucky country is selling out our road maintenance to a retirement fund. When in the world was this privatisation even announced in the news?
Announced ages ago, and only the licensing and registration is being handed over.
Once the wheel starts turning, it'll keep on going. Just look back through at what happened to Telstra. Telstra, Royal Mint, Auspost, Vicroads and whatever else taxpayer owned services that you think are essential will end up going into rich private hands. They just call it a JV or any other sort of spin on words.
Publically, we might try to hide corruption, but in reality, I don't see much difference from what we are doing to what Russia has done. Only one is just less skilled and being less than subtle in the transfer of public businesses and other assets.
@Fuzor: just got my renewal for my car $805… next yr I'm betting its at LEAST a grand. maybe 1200.
Macquarie arent doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
@pharkurnell: Pretty sure pricing of essential items (which I imagine is car registration and license renewal) will still be set by the government.
Not saying this is a good thing overall, just that hopefully we don't see a massive jump in these costs.
E: The state government will continue to control data, privacy provisions and essential fee prices, and will recommence all operations after the partnership ends, Treasurer Tim Pallas said.
src: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7802999/vicroads-part…
E: Original source "Continued ownership of VicRoads by the Government will ensure control over regulation and policy, data and privacy provisions and pricing of essential fees, with information to remain secure and stored in Australia."
src: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/better-deal-drivers-and-billi…
Maybe that's carefully worded spin, or maybe they do actually maintain control of some fees
@Thanges: Of course they'll retain control of the fees but they'll have something in the contract like built in increase of CPI+3% that doesn't add up to much until this government is gone but over the next 40 years costs us 2-3 times as much as if we kept it.
@Fuzor: Telecommunications prices are a fraction of what they where and the service is a thousand times better than when Telstra had the monopoly. In the 1970's you had to wait 3 years to get a landline, and you had to book an overseas call weeks in advance and pay through the nose for it. I lived through it, you don't have the facts right.
It nowhere states that.
Rather it says:
“The joint venture is a 40-year partnership in which the Government retains ownership of VicRoads”
No where? Where did I copy and paste it from then?
Not sure. You should provide a source. Or are you paraphrasing?
Introducing executives onto the board from private groups simply means they'll charge excessive "consultation" fees and the run the business to ground. They'll then coordinate with mainstream media on hit pieces at how incompetent the Government is on running basic services and eventually wrestle control of the business.
It's what Macquarie did to Sydney airport shareholders.
selling private data to the highest bidder!
Oh god Macquarie……Ladies and Gentlemen we F&8*ed up the future for our kids.
The WEF actually did that.
The way a lot of people drive these days they should make it mandatory for some to retake these tests.
This! since it is free. Mandatory test every 5 years is an option now
I see someone downvote you —- so I give u a upvote back.
For those negging, are you scared to take a road test? if so you probably shouldn't be on road right now.
I remember when I was in school, who failed most of them were not afraid of exams.
If I was ever a politician (lol) this would be priority 1 - instead of just dropping speed limits every 5 years, driver education and mandatory licence retesting/retraining at set intervals would make the roads a much safer and better place!
LMAO! you dont believe that do you?
Peter Garrett thought he would get in and make the world a better place.. 10 seconds later he was put in his place and didn't do shit the entire time he was there.
You get in, you have dreams, they get shot down, you follow party lines or get booted.
YMMV
HEY I can dream can't i?! 😜
Haha I agree!
Everything is free now in Victoria, just like in Venezuela
Except petrol.
Enjoy.
So, when can we start eating the zoo animals?
It's an election year, it's not free, it's buying votes.
Add to the OP that a safe driver gets 25% discount on license renewal.
if someone is road raging on the road every day but lucky enough not to get hit/caught, is he considered as a safe driver?
If a driver is not involved in an accident, must be a safe driver.
Are you telling me the ones involved in accidents are safer drivers?
you are twisting my point.
I wasn't talking about those who have had accident.
For those who have not had accident, are they all safe driver? or some just being lucky?
If a driver is not involved in an accident, must be a safe driver.
When you see people speeding, snaking, tailgating, cutting in and out, they probably didn't have a accident straight away did they?
In amnesia Dan talk, safe driver = not been caught yet!
I am thinking to get a motorcycle license if there is fee saved. Not sure if it's applicable providing that I already have full license on car?
I think bike licence is a separate thing. You need to pay $500 for the 2 day course and then 3 months later apply for license.
Let’s see if any rebate is offered for that.
At the cost of VicRoads being partly privatized. This will not end well.
But it says - “The joint venture is a 40-year partnership in which the Government retains ownership of VicRoads”
a 'JV' run by a private company for 40 years (with prices controlled by the private corp) is basically privatisation. Saying that: they did not say that and Politicians never lie.
works well for superfund holders
The drive test requirements should change.
A driver cannot give a drive test if the car has electronic brakes.
Most of the cars come with electronic brakes these days. Someone who’s confident enough to give test in their own car can’t give it due to this.
Driver needs to pay extra $200 to a driving school instructor so that they can give a test with them + license fee.
And this needs to be paid again if the driver fails for some reason.
It's a scam to keep the driving test industry in business. pretty much like all unnecessary red tape.
I'm really puzzled by your wording.
Are you saying you think the test should change so you can't take your test in a car with electric brakes?
Are you saying it is going to change?
The text requirements for using your own car currently include "has a handbrake that the licence testing officer can operate if required. Vehicles fitted with electronic or foot operated park brakes cannot be used for solo tests".
I don't know how many cars have electronic park brakes, though.
Ah yeah it's the parking/emergency brake that can not be electronic. This one I was aware of and did in fact have to borrow a friend's car for a test. I thought the rule might be moving on to smart braking systems. No worries!
buying the election and targeting key voters in marginal electorates.
Dan is the master of spin.
Even if he rounds up the first born of each family and throws them in a gulag, he would still win the state election. That's how useless the LNP is in Victoria. Dan knows he can do anything and get away with it.
Free flu vaccine is ok but free L&P is pathetic attempt for wooing voters
Nothing the government gives you is free… we all pay. And we pay for it and ad government waste.
Cool, so drivers who shouldn't be on the road can keep retaking the test until they pass.
hopefully, and now for free!
What did they do before?
Seriously these comments are inane. Noone chooses not to take the test based on the fees. All this does is save people money.
Does this apply to motorcycle?
Liberals are in shambles.
Australian + State politics are a shambles.
How long until we see rego fees hit $1500+ due to "admin" fees….
Privatization is the dumbest shit ever… it never works in favour of humans..
"With the privatisation of Port of Melbourne, the Land Titles Office, public housing estates and now VicRoads, Victorians have a right to know months out from the election what other public assets or agencies are on the government's privatisation hit list," Greens MP Sam Hibbins said in a statement.
That’s just great, 70k annual salary for a single early 20s adult who still lives with their parents nets you piss all after the inflation hikes across the board and tax increases.
Now with vehicle registration fees and petrol going up, I’m better off selling my SUV and just continue to work from home.
You mistake politicians as being people who actually know what its like to live on 70k a year, not every 4 months - or people who give .000000000000000000000000000000001% of a shit about people on 70k a year. They are just an inconvenience
Definitely not voting for that PoS Dan Andrews this upcoming state election after seeing how he has managed Victoria these past few years.
VicRoads privatisation will mean call wait times increase 5 mins a year, you will talk to someone from India or Phillipines, then if its too complicated they will hang up then you will wait another 30 mins to talk to your overseas pen pal.
Enjoy the world of privatisation. Then we will blame the private company for poor service.
Vicroads is already sn archaic mess so no need to wait for privatisation
Assume they will be refunding these fees to every one else who has had to pay them over the years?
Yes sure and a free bag of lettuce
Poor road infrastructure that can’t keep up with growing population and housing, more cars means more fines = more revenue!
40 years of L&R privately operated ? Cars will be driverless within 20 years, smells fishy.
sooo will i get a refund on the 3 driving tests i failed?
Welcome to the new state/city of Detroit, Australia! Why is this government not in jail for deception? I will never know.
Not to point out the obvious, but that article doesn't have any factual basis.
The "International Common Law Court of Justice" is not even a thing 🤷🏼♂️
https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/arrest-warrants-for-queen-a…
Hey kids, we stuffed up your Victorian high school experience with some of the longest lockdowns on the planet. Seeing you are coming of voting age, and it's an election year, here, have a free drivers license. See you like us now.
![[VIC] Fee Reduction for Learners & Test Fees + Free Probationary Licences @ VicGov / VicRoads](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/18/709918.jpg?h=85316160)
Iluvfreebies on 01/07/2022 - 10:01 Comment score below threshold.
