On the Right Track: Driving change in remote communities

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges and successes of the On the Right Track program in improving access to driver's licences in remote Aboriginal communities in South Australia.

For many Australians getting a driver’s licence is often seen as a rite of passage - a first taste of independence and adulthood. But in some of South Australia’s most isolated Aboriginal communities, it has historically been far more complicated than simply booking a test and taking driving lessons. For years, barriers including distance, language, access to identification documents, limited internet access and the absence of local driving instructors meant many Aboriginal people living in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and surrounding regions were effectively locked out of the licensing system. When South Australia’s On the Right Track program first began operating in the APY Lands in 2015, fewer than one in five people over the age of 16 held a learner’s permit or driver’s licence. Today, that figure has climbed to around 60 per cent across remote communities stretching from the APY and Maralinga Tjarutja Lands to Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta and parts of the Flinders Ranges. Behind those numbers is a decade-long effort that Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) Deputy Director for Aboriginal Strategy Jade Wilson said has become about more…

People in this episode

Guests: Jade Wilson, Amy Reid

Topics covered

• driver's licence
• Aboriginal communities
• remote education
• transportation barriers
• community programs
• independence

Keywords

• driver's licence
• Aboriginal communities
• On the Right Track
• transportation
• South Australia
• APY Lands
• community development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department for Infrastructure and Transport

Places: Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, South Australia, Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta, Flinders Ranges

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