The head of Western Australia's Department of Transport has strongly criticised the "unfair" practice of people bulk booking and "reselling" driving test appointments.
Iain Cameron said the department would be tightening security of its online booking systems in light of reports of people bulk booking and charging learner drivers $25 to skip the queue.
"Our stance on this is that it's unfair and not right, we're looking into how all of those things work," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"There may be the use of bots, that are scooping up available slots; you can go on the web, and see a graphic that looks remarkably like a Department of Transport graphic, suggesting that somebody can help you get a test quicker.
He said security features had been added and there would be more to come.
"It's complex - it's not a supply problem, but [the system] is not working fairly and it's not working as intended," he said.
Struggling to book
A driving instructor, who did not want to be identified, told ABC Radio Perth he had set up a side business booking driving tests on behalf of others who did not have time.
"After the Department of Transport (was) understaffed heavily last year, the backlog has become so bad that parents and kids are spending all day attempting to search and refresh unsuccessfully as there are hundreds of people clicking for a tiny amount of releases," he said.
"I am an instructor who is off work for a while, so I've offered the service while I'm at home to do the searching and refreshing for them for a small fee of $25 for my time and eyestrain so that they can work and go to school free of the stress.
"This is what it has come to until the Department [of Transport] trains more staff."
Meanwhile, driving instructor Bruce Rollings said he took no additional fee but spent at least 20 hours per week trying to secure test slots online for his students.
"It's really frustrating, I need about 10 or 12 test dates at the moment," he said.
"It's becoming more and more difficult to complete people's training, you get people to a stage where they're ready to take the test and you just cannot book a test.
"[The Department] needs to take on more assessors."
'Tight labour market' to blame
Mr Cameron said the department was in the grip of a staff shortage but said the issue wasn't the supply of tests.
"Right at this moment, yes, we have a bit of pressure on, we've got a couple of people that are on sick leave or workers compensation or other leave," he said.
"There's a tight market for labour more generally, and our assessors are skilled and well trained so often they'll have a truck licence, which is in demand elsewhere in the community."
He said seven driving assessors had been recruited.
"That daily release [of appointments], or that weekly release will vary depending on our numbers," he said.
Mr Cameron said between 5 and 10 per cent of booked tests were cancelled because a student didn't show up or came in a car that was not roadworthy and couldn't be rebooked.
"We want to free up more slots more often for people who are genuinely ready," he said.
"There isn't a wait time — I have 500 slots showing on the system in the metro area.
"[People need to] be flexible in terms of time and location."
Parents struggle
Cindy Raimundo said she had not been able to book a test for her son at a southern suburbs testing centre for the past five months, despite having checked the website every day.
"I would prefer one locally in Kelmscott where we live and where my son is familiar [with] driving," she said.
She said the only test she had been able to find was more than 60 kilometres away in Mandurah, south of Perth.
However, she said she was told she could book a test at Kelmscott sooner that if she paid $25 to a local driving instructor.
Her son also received a separate offer of an appointment from another driving instructor when he took his hazard perception test.
"The instructor told him that they book up about 80 tests in a row, and they could get one for him at Kelmscott, but he would have to do minimum of three lessons with them before they'll give him a test," she said.
She said she would rather search further afield than fork out money to someone selling tests off.
Claire Weatherill, from Perth's southern suburbs, said she had been trying to get a test appointment for her son when he turned 17 in April but had no luck, even after looking further afield.
"The instructor said there was a person that we could contact who would sell us a driving test [appointment] for $25," she said.
"It's quite a shock to think that there is somebody who is able to block book tests somehow and then sell them on to people."
