Learner permit and licence testing including drive tests are set to resume across regional Victoria in line with the Victorian Government’s roadmap to reopening.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said licencing operations will resume in regional areas from Monday 21 September now that regional Victoria has progressed to the Third Step along the path toward COVID Normal.

The first priority under the staged resumption will be to re-book tests for those in regional Victoria whose appointments were postponed in March due to the initial coronavirus restrictions.

The Chief Health Officer has outlined a range of measures to allow drive testing to commence safely for the workforce and public across regional Victoria. No one should be participating in a driving test if they are unwell.

Regional customers with a postponed appointment will be contacted by VicRoads directly to reschedule their test in the order of cancellation. New appointments will be available once the backlog of postponed tests is cleared.

For those who may need extra time to accrue more hours of supervised driving practice before sitting a test, they can re-book their test without losing their place in the queue.

Tests across Victoria were initially suspended in March to protect all Victorians and customer facing staff. Testing briefly resumed in June when restrictions eased, before being suspended again for regional Victoria on Wednesday 5 August.

This has left approximately 5,000 licensing appointments postponed across regional Victoria, with a further 25,000 people unable to book a new test since testing has been suspended. VicRoads anticipates taking new bookings in November.

While tests have been suspended, VicRoads have been offering licence tests for people who would have faced undue hardship from not having their learner permit or licence. This option will continue to be available until the availability of new appointments returns to normal.

VicRoads is also investigating options to increase access to online registration and licencing services.

Victorians are reminded that while VicRoads Customer Service Centres remain open, they should not visit unless their matter is urgent, and are strongly encouraged to complete their transaction online. For more information, visit www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.