by Chris Edwards
ACT Accredited Driving Instructor (ADI)
Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Safe Driving
As parents, we spend years preparing our children for independence. We teach them everything from how to tie their shoelaces to how to cross the road safely. We invest heavily in their education, and we do our best to help them make good choices.
But when it comes to one of the most dangerous transitions they’ll face—getting behind the wheel—many of us focus on clocking up the required 100 hours without considering who’s teaching them and what they’re actually learning during that time.
The statistics tell a sobering story. Every year in Australia, over 1,300 people lose their lives on our roads, with thousands more suffering life-altering injuries.
The most vulnerable group? Drivers in their first year of licensing.
Our teenagers, full of potential and promise, face their highest risk of fatal or life-changing accidents just as they’re celebrating their newfound freedom.
“Trying to get your driving licence as quickly as possible could cost you your life – or worse – a close friend or family member’s life!“
Chris Edwards
It is understandable, particularly as a 16 year old, to want to get a driving licence as quickly as possible.
If you’re wondering how to get your Ls in Canberra, here’s what the learner has to complete:
To get a learner licence in the ACT you need to be a minimum age of 15 years 9 months, complete the mandatory Pre‑Learner Licence Course and pass the ACT Driver Knowledge Test.
When Can I Get My Ps?
To get your Provisional Licence (your Red Ps) you need to:
- have had your Learner’s Licence for a minimum of 12 months,
- be aged 17 or older
- have logged a minimum 100 hours of driving experience with 10 of those hours at night
- and you must have completed the ACT Hazard Perception Test.
These are the core ACT Learner Licence requirements. Understanding them early helps families plan ahead.
The Hidden Cost of Teaching Your Child to Drive
As a parent, what should you consider and what do you need to do?
Many parents choose to supervise all 100 hours themselves and then have their child sit the government test, believing it’s the most affordable route. It’s an understandable opinion, especially with the cost of everything rising. But there can be many significant hidden risks.
The driving skills most of us learnt decades ago may not serve our children well today. Cars have changed dramatically, road rules have evolved, and traffic conditions are more complex than ever.
And if we’re honest with ourselves, most of us have developed potentially dangerous habits over the years that we don’t even notice — that slightly rolling stop at a familiar intersection, the way we merge, how we position our hands on the wheel, our following distances. These habits, ingrained over thousands of hours of driving, get unknowingly passed on to our children during those supervising hours.
Remember, from your teenager’s perspective, you learnt to drive before they were born. To them, that was in the Dark Ages!
Whilst it may seem like you’re saving money by teaching them yourself, you could be setting them up for failure — and at worst, for greater risk on the road.
Your child needs current instruction from the start in order to build best-practice habits they will take into adulthood. What may seem like a financial saving could unknowingly cost far more than money.
Understanding Your Child’s Options for Getting Their P-Plates
Once your son or daughter has met the ACT learner licence requirements, one of the most important decisions you’ll face is choosing how they’ll actually get their Provisional Licence.
In the ACT, there are two pathways — and while both lead to the same destination, they are very different experiences.
Option 1:
The ACT Government Driving Test
A single assessment conducted by an Access Canberra examiner.
The Learner must demonstrate safe driving across a route that includes intersections, roundabouts, lane changes, merging, parking manoeuvres, and hazard response.
It may seem like the most straightforward and affordable option — after all, you only pay for a test. But the numbers tell a more complicated story.
The test costs $129, and in 2025 the first-attempt pass rate was just 27.7%. If your child doesn’t pass, they pay again and wait, typically around four weeks for the next available booking, and considerably longer around school holidays and the Christmas period.
Many families also end up paying for one or two lessons with an Accredited Driving Instructor (ADI), to correct poor habits and give their son or daughter the best chance on a second or third attempt.
Option 2:
Competency-Based Training & Assessment
The alternate pathway is Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBT&A), delivered by an ACT-Accredited Driving Instructor (ADI).
Rather than one high-stakes test, the Learner is assessed progressively across multiple lessons, with each required skill signed off as they demonstrate competence.
Once all competencies are completed, the instructor issues a CBT&A certificate, which the Learner takes directly to Access Canberra to receive their provisional licence — no government test required.
CBT&A tends to suit learners who get anxious in test situations, teenagers who benefit from structured coaching, and families who want a more supportive, skills-focused approach.
Because assessment is ongoing rather than a one-off test, there’s far less pressure riding on a single day’s performance.
So Which Pathway Is Right for Your Child?
For many families, Competency Based Training (CBT) ends up being the faster, cheaper, and far less stressful option — even though it doesn’t look that way at first glance.
Learners who struggle with nerves or who have picked up inconsistent habits often fail the government test more than once, and each failed attempt costs another $129 and weeks of waiting.
CBT allows a professional instructor to identify and correct unsafe habits before they become ingrained, and gives your child far more time with a qualified instructor to help them navigate many real-world situations.
Both are legitimate options, and the right choice depends on your child. But it’s worth going in with a clear understanding of what each pathway actually involves — not just what it appears to cost on paper.
The First 10 Hours of Lessons With An ACT Accredited Driving Instructor Are Worth 3 Hours Each
That 10 hours behind the wheel with an ADI accounts for 30 hours of the Learner’s manditory 100 hours of driving experience.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
The ACT licensing system asks a lot of parents. Supervising 100 hours with a learner can feel overwhelming, especially if there is anxiety and tension in the car.
To help alleviate this situation, I’ve developed a 90-minute Supervising Driver Coaching Session.
Find out more about my ACT Supervising Driver Coaching Session and start supervising your child with clarity and confidence.
