How to Choose a Driving Instructor in Victoria
Know what the law requires, compare the price per hour, and choose a driving instructor who knows the testing routes at your VicRoads office.
Every paid driving instructor in Victoria must hold a Driving Instructor Authority from Safe Transport Victoria, and one who teaches learners under 18 needs a Working with Children Check as well. After that, compare the price per hour rather than the price per driving lesson, and choose a driving instructor who sits tests at the VicRoads office you will test at.
- Ask how long the driving instructor has been teaching. Experience is the one thing the qualification does not measure.
- A higher hourly rate does not mean a more experienced driving instructor.
- A drive test passed in an automatic limits you to automatics during your probationary period only.
Comparison listings put photos, star ratings and hourly prices side by side. What they rarely show is what the law requires of every paid driving instructor, why two driving instructors in the same suburb charge different rates, or what happens when your driving instructor cannot make it. All three matter more than a profile photo.
This guide covers what a Victorian driving instructor must legally hold, what actually drives the price, whether to learn in an automatic or a manual, why the VicRoads office you test at matters, booking through a platform or a driving school, and the questions worth asking before you pay for anything.
What does a driving instructor need to hold in Victoria?
A Driving Instructor Authority, usually shortened to DIA, issued by Safe Transport Victoria. It is a legal requirement for anyone teaching an unlicensed person to drive a car for payment, not a membership or a marketing badge.
“Professional driving instructors must hold a driving instructor authority when teaching an unlicensed person to drive a car.”
Safe Transport Victoria
To be granted one, a driving instructor must:
- Complete the qualification: the Certificate IV in Transport and Logistics in car driving instruction, with a letter from the training provider saying whether the training was done in a manual or an automatic
- Meet the medical standard: the one for commercial vehicle driving, not the ordinary licence standard
- Pass a traffic history check: no serious or frequent traffic offences
- Pass a criminal history check
- Hold a valid Victorian driver licence
- Be a fit and proper person: assessed by Safe Transport Victoria, and required to stay that way for as long as the authority is held
It does not stop at the application. A driving instructor must tell Safe Transport Victoria about any new criminal or traffic charge, or any suspension of their licence, and the regulator can suspend or cancel the authority. Driving instructors must also keep a zero blood alcohol reading whenever they are driving, the same as learners and P platers.
If the learner is under 18, there is a second requirement on top of the authority, and it is a separate check.
“Driving instructors who teach students under 18 years of age must have a current Working with Children Check (WWCC).”
Safe Transport Victoria
Every Alex Driving School driving instructor holds a Driving Instructor Authority, as the law requires, and every one of them carries a Working with Children Check card. They are seasoned, full-time Melbourne driving instructors, and it is a fair question to ask any school how long its instructors have been teaching, because experience is the one thing the qualification does not measure.
Why do driving instructors charge different prices?
Hourly rates vary across the same city, and the spread is mostly about how the driving lesson is sold rather than who is teaching it. A higher hourly rate does not mean a more experienced driving instructor. Four things drive the difference:
- Length. A 45-minute driving lesson sold at the price of a 60-minute one costs a third more for every hour behind the wheel. Convert every price to a rate per hour before you compare.
- Packaging. Driving lessons booked together usually cost less per hour than single ones. Ask how long a package stays valid and what happens to any driving lessons left over.
- Day and time. Some schools charge more at weekends, on public holidays or after hours. Ask, especially if Saturday is the only day you can drive.
- What is included on test day. A lesson and test package should include the driving instructor’s car and the driving lesson that runs straight into the test. Check that both are in the price.
At Alex Driving School a 60-minute driving lesson costs $68 to $75 an hour in a package, and the price is the same every day of the week, with no surcharge for weekends, public holidays, early mornings or after hours. Every package is on the prices and packages page, and Driving Lessons in Victoria sets out the VicRoads fees paid on top and how many driving lessons different learners need.
Automatic or manual: does it matter which you learn in?
It matters for your first few years of driving, and less after that. The car you sit the VicRoads drive test in decides what you can drive while you are on your Ps.
“If you pass your probationary drive test in a vehicle with an automatic transmission, you can only drive vehicles with an automatic transmission during your probationary period.”
Transport Victoria
It is often described as a permanent restriction until you sit another test, and it is not. Transport Victoria says that at the end of your probationary period you can drive a manual without another driving test, provided the condition is not there for a medical reason. If you need to drive a manual sooner, while still on your Ps, you can be retested in one.
So the practical question is whether you expect to drive a manual in the next few years, for work or a family car. If you do, ask before you book whether manual driving lessons are available, because not every driving instructor teaches in one. With us you choose automatic or manual on the booking form.
Why the VicRoads office you test at matters
Each VicRoads office that conducts drive tests has several testing routes, sharing its main roads and differing on the smaller streets. A driving instructor who sits tests at your office regularly knows those routes, the difficult intersections on them, and where the speed limit changes. That is worth more in the weeks before a test than almost anything else on a profile.
Our driving instructors sit tests constantly and know the current testing routes at every office. Driving lessons normally start from home, work or your local train station, but once the test is the goal we suggest meeting at the VicRoads office, so the whole driving lesson goes on the testing routes rather than on getting there. Driving lessons by suburb shows which office serves you, and What Is a Mock Driving Test? explains the driving lesson that runs straight into the test.
Should you book through a booking platform or a local driving school?
Both put you in a car with an authorised driving instructor. What differs is what each one is built to do, and that shows up the moment something needs to change.
What a local driving school does well
It knows the area. A local school’s driving instructors are usually local too: ours live in the areas they teach in and specialise at the VicRoads office serving them, so they know its testing routes, the roads around it and the community it serves. One office knows your package, your driving instructor and your test date, so moving a driving lesson or a test is one phone call to people who already have your details. If your driving instructor is unwell on test day, another one who knows that VicRoads office can step in. And the prices are one published list, the same whichever driving instructor you are given.
What a booking platform is built for
Filling bookings. A platform lists driving instructors and takes the booking, and the model works best with enough driving instructors on the list that no booking is ever turned away, whether or not each of them has steady, full-time work. There is usually no office standing behind them. Each driving instructor tends to set their own rate, so the price depends on who you pick, and if they cannot make it on test day there is often nobody holding your details who can send someone else.
Changing driving instructor: worth reading between the lines
Some platforms make a feature of being able to change driving instructor at any time. You should be able to change, and with us you can. But it is an unusual thing to lead with. Most learners do best with one driving instructor who knows their driving from one lesson to the next, so getting the match right at the start matters far more than an easy way out. When swapping is the selling point, it is fair to ask why so many learners would need it.
Reputation, and how long they have been around
Whichever way you book, look at the school’s reputation and how long it has been teaching. A school that has lasted decades has done it on word of mouth, and its Google reviews are there for you to read. Alex Driving School has been teaching learner drivers and overseas drivers across Melbourne for over 35 years.
The questions below are worth asking before you pay for anything.
Does the driving instructor’s language or teaching style matter?
It matters if it affects how comfortable you are in the car, because a learner who is relaxed takes in far more in an hour. Nervous learners and learners coming back to driving after a long break notice this most.
Language is the most practical filter. A driving instructor who can explain a give way rule in your first language saves time on every driving lesson, and it matters most to learners new to the country, who are also learning Victorian road rules for the first time. Our overseas licence conversion page covers that path.
We have native English-speaking driving instructors, driving instructors who speak other languages, and female driving instructors. If any of those would make you more comfortable, ask when you book. Getting the match right from the first driving lesson is far better than changing part way through.
Questions to ask before you book
A professional driving school answers all of these without hesitation. Here they are, with our answers:
- How long have you been teaching? Alex Driving School has been teaching in Melbourne for over 35 years, and our driving instructors are seasoned, full-time Melbourne driving instructors.
- Do you have female driving instructors, or ones who speak my language? Yes, both, as well as native English speakers. Ask when you book.
- If the learner is under 18, do you hold a current Working with Children Check? Every Alex Driving School driving instructor carries a Working with Children Check card.
- What is the price per hour? Our packages work out at $68 to $75 an hour for 60-minute driving lessons.
- Does the price change? Not with us. Alex Driving School charges the same price for every driving instructor, at weekends, on public holidays and after hours, which keeps our pricing easy to understand.
- How often do you sit tests at the VicRoads office I will test at? Our driving instructors sit tests constantly and know the current testing routes at every office.
- What is the cancellation policy, and how long does a package stay valid? It is all in our terms and conditions: at least 24 hours notice for a driving lesson, 48 hours for a VicRoads drive test booking, and packages are valid for three months.
- If I use your car for the drive test, what is included on the day? A dual-control car you have already driven, the driving lesson that runs straight into the test, and your driving instructor’s support at the appointment.
Be wary of anyone who guarantees a pass, because no driving instructor can. What a good driving instructor does is check your current skill level, gauge your progress between driving lessons and give you good advice. The full path from learner permit to P plates is on Get Your Ps.
The short version
- Every paid driving instructor in Victoria must hold a Driving Instructor Authority, and one who teaches learners under 18 needs a Working with Children Check as well.
- A local driving school knows the area and its VicRoads office, and has an office behind the driving instructor that knows your package and your test date.
- Look at the school’s reputation and how long it has been around. We have been teaching in Melbourne for over 35 years.
- Compare the price per hour, not per driving lesson. With us it is $68 to $75 an hour in a package, the same every day.
- Passing in an automatic limits you to automatics while you are on your Ps, not for life.
- Choose a driving instructor who knows the testing routes at the VicRoads office you will test at.
Last checked 15 September 2026 against Safe Transport Victoria and Transport Victoria. Requirements change, so confirm anything time-critical with Safe Transport Victoria or with VicRoads on 13 11 71.
Common questions
A Driving Instructor Authority from Safe Transport Victoria. To get one you complete the Certificate IV in Transport and Logistics in car driving instruction, meet the medical standards for commercial vehicle driving, pass a traffic history check and a criminal history check, hold a valid Victorian driver licence, and be assessed as a fit and proper person. Driving instructors who teach learners under 18 also need a current Working with Children Check.
Start with what every paid driving instructor must have: a Driving Instructor Authority, and a Working with Children Check if the learner is under 18. Then look at how long the school has been around and what its reputation is, prefer a local school whose driving instructors know your area, compare the price per hour rather than the price per driving lesson, ask whether the price changes at weekends, and ask how often the driving instructor sits tests at the VicRoads office you will test at.
Most of the warning signs can be checked before the first driving lesson: a promise that you will pass, a low price that only looks low because the driving lesson is short, a price that changes depending on the day, or no clear cancellation terms. In the car, a good driving instructor tells you what they want before you do it, explains why afterwards, and keeps you on roads that suit where you are up to.
Not by default. A private driving instructor and a driving school instructor hold the same Driving Instructor Authority and meet the same requirements. The difference is what sits behind them: with a driving school, an office knows your package and your test date, and another driving instructor can step in if yours is unwell.
Ready to book?
Tell us your suburb and where you are up to, from your first driving lesson to a test already booked, and we will match you with a driving instructor who knows the VicRoads office you will test at.
Preparing for the VicRoads driving test
Our VicRoads Drive Test Guide walks through what the testing officer is assessing, stage by stage, for $4.99. The Road to Solo Driving handbook from Transport Victoria is free and available in other languages.
Sources
- Driving instructors, Safe Transport Victoria
- Guide for Driving Instructors: Fit and Proper Person, Safe Transport Victoria, August 2026
- Licence conditions, Transport Victoria