Driver Licensing Access Program (DLAP)
Help is available through the Driver Licensing Access Program (DLAP) to get your driver licence.
Who is DLAP for?
Not everyone gets their licence easily. Some community groups can have difficulty meeting the requirements to get a driver licence. This impacts access to employment, education, training, health care, family, community support and cultural activities.
The Driver Licensing Access Program (DLAP) is a free program providing support to people in NSW who face extra challenges in getting a licence.
DLAP is available to:
- Aboriginal communities
- refugee and resettlement communities
- communities who have limited access to transport options or who are geographically disadvantaged
- vulnerable young people
- other people experiencing social and economic hardship.
To find out if you're eligible, you can search for your local DLAP service provider.
How DLAP can help you get a driver licence
The program can help you with:
- getting a learner licence
- getting on-road driving experience
- progressing to a provisional licence
- regaining a licence.
The program is run by service providers who will give culturally appropriate support to get you on the road, driving safely.
DLAP service providers help you with:
- understanding road rules and road safety
- improving reading, writing and computer skills to prepare you for licence tests
- meeting licence application requirements (e.g. getting identification documents)
- communicating with Service NSW and other government organisations
- accessing roadworthy vehicles
- helping to manage fines and debts to allow you to get your licence.
Why do we need DLAP?
Some people face extra barriers when completing the licence process.
DLAP was put in place to help keep everyone on the road safe, increase mobility and improve licensing access for communities who may be disadvantaged.
These barriers include:
- lower reading, writing and maths skills when learning the road rules
- difficulty proving identity by not having the right documents to apply for a licence
- lack of licensed supervising drivers available to provide the 120 hours of on-road experience
- little access to road-worthy vehicles for supervised driving
- limited culturally appropriate support when completing licence requirements
- being unable to pay fines and debts to Revenue NSW, which can add more licence penalties
- difficulty affording other road safety training, such as the Safer Drivers Course or professional driving instruction
- little knowledge of help and repayment options for overdue debts
- limited understanding and access to court and legal processes.
Information for referring agencies
We work with providers across NSW to deliver DLAP.
When you refer someone to a DLAP service provider, an assessment will be done of that person's needs and eligibility. Then the service provider will let you and the referred person know if they have been accepted into the program.
You can contact a service provider directly. For further support, please contact a project officer from the Transport for NSW Aboriginal Engagement team on 131 782 and select option 2. This team is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the program.
Volunteers for DLAP
Volunteers are an important part of the program. Volunteers help mentor and supervise learner drivers as they gain on-road driving experience.
We are always looking for volunteers and volunteer organisations to help deliver the program.
If you would like to be involved, you can:
- contact a service provider directly by using our DLAP Service Provider Finder (PDF 586.97KB), or
- speak to a project officer from the Transport for NSW Aboriginal Engagement team in your region - Aboriginal Engagement Team contact details.