How driving schools get more students in Australia

On This Page

1. How learners and parents choose an instructor
2. Your credential, by state
3. What your state requires you to show
4. Logbook credits: say them exactly
5. Pass claims, packages and refunds
6. What is a learner worth?
7. Test bookings, test day and test-route content
8. Child safety and the working with children check
9. Channels that bring learners in
10. Can I say this?
11. Your first 90 days
12. Questions I get asked

Driving instruction is licensed in every state, but each state names it differently, sets different rules for your car and your ads, and treats logbook hours its own way. Most marketing advice for driving schools ignores all of that. This guide covers how learners and parents choose an instructor, what your state requires you to show, the logbook credits you can and can't advertise, the claims that get instructors into trouble, test bookings, child safety, and the channels that bring learners in. It draws on each state's instructor laws and transport agency pages, the Australian Consumer Law, a Monash-led review of Queensland's learner program, and the working with children schemes. It's general information, not legal advice.

How learners and parents choose an instructor

There's no Australian survey of how learners or parents pick a driving instructor. The best data comes from a Monash-led review of Queensland's learner program. Most new drivers there had at least one professional lesson, usually alongside practice with a family member. About three in four of those who took lessons said the logbook credit encouraged them. Cost was the main reason others didn't. Learners also reported more support from instructors than from family.

Parents are usually the co-teacher and often the payer, and a motoring club survey found many feel unprepared: unsure how to respond in a crash, how to handle distracting passengers, or how to stay calm. Content that helps the supervising parent speaks to that worry.

South Australia's licensing site gives learners a ready-made checklist. Check the instructor's licence is current, and ask how much each lesson costs and whether you'll get a receipt, whether there are hidden or extra costs, whether they teach in a manual or automatic, and what the refund policy is for cancelled lessons. Put the answers on your website before anyone asks. About one instructor in nine is a woman, so "female instructor available" is a real point of difference where it's true.

Your credential, by state

Teaching someone to drive for pay without your state's credential is an offence almost everywhere. Use the exact name on your website and Google profile:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

"Government accredited instructor" isn't a term any state uses, so don't. Victoria has a public register where learners can check your Driving Instructor Authority number, so give your number and point to the register. In NSW you must show your licence to the student before you instruct. Membership of an industry association is fine to mention if current, but it isn't a licence.

What your state requires you to show

• NSW: a misconduct notice on your website. Transport for NSW now requires instructors and schools with a website to display how to report misconduct, "publicly accessible and easy to locate". The approved wording is: "To report misconduct by a driving instructor, call Transport for NSW on 131 500." There's an approved sign for inside the car too, visible from the learner's seat. Unlicensed people must not advertise as instructors.
• WA: vehicle classes in every ad. An ad for driving instruction must specify "the kinds of motor vehicle" you teach in.
• Queensland: a sign on the car and a binding code. Your training vehicle needs "a conspicuously displayed sign or plate showing the contact name and contact information". The code of conduct bars "false or misleading information to students, prospective students", and "sharing or publishing photographs, recordings or other images of students ... without consent".
• ACT and NT: fees before the first lesson. The ACT code says you must tell the student the fee for the lesson or package before the first lesson. The NT code adds payment methods, possible fee increases and your refund policy. The ACT also makes it an offence to "pretend to be accredited".
• SA: a voluntary code that still counts. Instructors must "provide to the applicant the services they advertise", and a breach can bring an investigation into whether you're fit to hold your licence.
• Credentials on show in the car: Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT require your photo ID or certificate to be displayed so it can be read from the driver's seat.

Dual controls are required by law for instructor-supplied cars in NSW, Queensland, WA, Tasmania and the ACT, so "dual-controlled car" is a fair claim wherever it's true. "Fully insured" is vague: say what the cover is, such as "comprehensive insurance that covers you, including the excess".

Logbook credits: say them exactly

The logbook credit is a big reason learners book lessons, and it's often advertised wrongly. Here's the rule in each state, with the cap:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

"Every lesson counts triple" without the cap is a half-truth, and in Victoria, WA, SA and the NT, any credit claim is wrong. In NSW, the Safer Drivers Course adds 20 logbook hours, but it's delivered by providers Transport for NSW contracts by tender. Recommend it if you like, but don't say you run it unless you do. Never sign for hours that weren't driven.

Keys2drive has ended and its website is gone, so remove any old Keys2drive badge: it implies an affiliation that no longer exists. In Victoria, the government-funded myLearners Free Lesson is delivered by accredited instructors, and participating instructors get a free listing on its platform.

Pass claims, packages and refunds

Pass guarantees. No state bans "pass guaranteed" by name; the consumer law does. A claim about the future is taken to be misleading unless you had reasonable grounds, and nobody controls how a learner drives on the day or what the examiner decides. The Federal Court found an online training provider's "Only Pay After You Pass" claims misleading. A pass rate needs a defined base: "Most of my learners pass first time: 41 of 52 first attempts over the last 12 months" is fine if it's true and recorded. "98% pass rate" with no base isn't.

Packages and prepaid lessons. You can say "No refunds for change of mind", but "no refunds" on its own takes away rights you can't remove. If lessons aren't given with due care and skill, or you can't fit the learner in within a reasonable time, the learner can end the contract and get back what they haven't used. "Packages expire after 6 months, no refunds" is the kind of term that risks being unfair.

Gift vouchers. Parents and grandparents buy them, and a gift voucher must be redeemable for at least three years, with the expiry printed on it, unless it was sold at a genuine discount.

Prices. Show totals per lesson, per package and for test-day hire. Card surcharges are no longer allowed on the main card networks; you can offer a discount for bank transfer instead. A late-cancellation fee is fine if it's shown before booking and you'd honour the same if you cancelled.

What is a learner worth?

Put in your own numbers. The defaults are made up, not industry figures.

On the made-up figures, a 10-hour package costs $720 and the discount costs you $80. A learner is worth about $1,068 directly and roughly $1,388 with referrals. Filling 30 hours a week takes about 115 new learners a year, and referrals bring about three in ten of them, so you need to find about 80 yourself. Logbook credits never change those sums; they're a reason to book, not extra income.

Test bookings, test day and test-route content

Booking. WA says your instructor can book with your consent, "You are the owner of any PDA bookings made under your name", and learners "should not pay any additional fees to secure a PDA booking through a driving instructor". Queensland lets the learner pay the booking fee and then have their driver trainer book the test. In Tasmania, a learner can't be assessed by an authorised assessor who taught them. "I can book your test with your consent; the booking is yours" is a line that builds trust. Never charge extra to "secure" a slot.

The test car. In NSW, only the learner and the testing officers are in the car. In Victoria, an instructor may sit in a dual-control car during the test but can't communicate.

Test routes. No state publishes test routes, and the Queensland review recorded stakeholders' concern that "many learners are simply being taught to drive on test routes". Don't promise "the exact test route". A page about a test centre's area can describe the kinds of roads, intersections and school zones nearby and how your lessons practise the skills the test checks.

Recording tests. Queensland's examiner manual says recordings of a driving test "must not be posted on any internet website, including on social media". Treat the same as good practice everywhere, and never film examiners.

Child safety and the working with children check

Most of your learners are under 18 when they start. You need a working with children check, or your state's equivalent, to teach them in NSW (for a car instructor licence), Victoria, Queensland (a blue card), WA, SA and Tasmania. Without one in SA, your licence is limited to adults. In the ACT, every accredited instructor needs Working with Vulnerable People registration. Queensland's child safe standards now name accredited driver training too.

Use your state's name for the check ("current Working with Children Check", "blue card"), and only claim it for a whole school if every instructor who teaches under-18s holds one. A short "how I keep learners safe" note answers parents' concerns: a parent can ride along on the first lesson, pick-ups happen at agreed places, messages go to the parent too for under-18s, and here's how to report a concern. In NSW, that last line is required anyway.

Channels that bring learners in

Google Business Profile. A mobile instructor without premises lists as a service-area business with the home address hidden, choosing up to 20 areas you'll actually drive to. Use your real business name only, not "Driving Lessons Parramatta Cheap Automatic". Your branded car, including Queensland's required sign, can help with Google's video verification. My guide to local SEO for small businesses covers the setup.

Your website. Prices as totals, auto or manual, suburbs and pick-up points, test-day hire, your credential and check, your state's logbook rule with its cap, your availability after school and on weekends, and a booking button. Add a "for parents" page and one page per test centre area with real local detail. Forty near-identical suburb pages is the pattern Google calls doorway abuse.

Reviews. Ask every learner at the same point, after the test, pass or fail, with no reward. Asking only the learners who passed is selective soliciting, which Google prohibits. My guide to getting more Google reviews has the wording.

Referrals and siblings. A disclosed thank-you for a referral is fine; the referring family shares your link, and you don't message their friends. Siblings are a natural next learner.

Meta ads and social. Target parents in the suburbs you cover, and older learners with simple offers. Post learner photos, like a P-plate celebration, only with consent, a parent's too for under-18s, and never show the licence card.

Marketplaces. Lesson marketplaces can fill gaps, but they own the customer relationship and the reviews. Keep your own profile and site strong so repeat and referral learners come to you directly.

Texts. "Lesson tomorrow 4pm, pick-up from home. Reply C to confirm" is a factual message. "Test in two weeks: book a pre-test lesson" is marketing, which needs consent and an opt-out. For under-18s, get the parent's consent.

Can I say this?

Tap a card to see the verdict.

Your first 90 days

Tick items off as you go; the list remembers your progress on this device.

Questions I get asked

How do I get more driving students?

Make the answers parents look for easy to find: your licence, total prices, auto or manual, suburbs, refund policy and working with children check. Set up your Google profile as a service-area business, ask every learner for a review after their test, and encourage referrals from families and siblings.

Can I advertise a pass guarantee?

No. A pass is a future result you can't have reasonable grounds to promise, and the Federal Court found a training provider's "Only Pay After You Pass" claims misleading. Past results with a clear base are fine if true.

Do driving lessons count extra in the logbook?

In NSW, Queensland and the ACT, up to 10 hours with an instructor count triple, with conditions. In Tasmania, the first 10 lesson hours count double. Victoria, WA and SA have no lesson credit, and the NT has no logbook.

What must a NSW driving instructor's website show?

How to report instructor misconduct, using the approved wording: "To report misconduct by a driving instructor, call Transport for NSW on 131 500." It must be easy to find on the site.

Do driving instructors need a working with children check?

To teach learners under 18, yes, in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA and Tasmania. In the ACT, every accredited instructor needs Working with Vulnerable People registration.

Can I still offer Keys2drive lessons?

No. Keys2drive has ended. In Victoria, the government-funded myLearners Free Lesson is delivered by participating accredited instructors.