Kemp Allied Health driving assessments are conducted by our Registered Occupational Therapy Driving Assessors i.e., Occupational Therapists who have completed a nationally recognised post-graduate driving training certification and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Our Registered OT Driving Assessors focus on the impact of your medical condition, disability or injury on commencing or returning to driving. Where possible, our goal is to enable you to begin or return to driving safely, legally and independently. It is different to a Department of Transport (DoT) licensing test. OT Driving Assessment may be conducted for:

Novice drivers (first time and learner drivers)

•  To determine potential to drive and driving readiness.

Fitness to drive (maintaining or regaining license)

• To determine fitness to drive for acquired disabilities, medical conditions or aged-related changes. It may involve the need for remediation and/or modified driving controls.

Work related drivers (maintaining or regaining license)

• To determine the impact of injury or chronic pain conditions including ergonomic evaluation.
  

Assessment format

1.   Clinical assessment (off-road) consists of:

• Initial interview (medical history/current treatment, driving history/experience)
• Physical and cognitive screen.
• Test of road law knowledge.
• Requirements for the on-road assessment such as the vehicle type (automatic or manual), vehicle modifications, and where the test should be conducted.
• Vision screen by Optometrist/Ophthalmologist required to ensure client meets Austroad (2022) 10.2 standards.

2. Practical driving assessment (on-road) consists of:

• A practical driving assessment through a predetermined route with a range of road conditions in a dual controlled manual or automatic vehicle. A qualified Driving Instructor will be seated in the front passenger’s seat. Our Registered OT Driving Instructor will sit in the left passenger seat at the rear and document the situations occurring throughout the drive.

3.  Comprehensive report

• Our Registered OT Driving Assessors provides the outcome of the driving assessment as well as recommendations for changes to the persons driver’s license, remediation plan and/or vehicle modifications. The recommendations will be discussed with you and a report sent to yourself, the referring practitioner and the DoT. DoT make the final licensing decision.

The clinical assessment and practical driving assessment are completed on different days.

If a person is found unsafe to drive, they may be:

• Asked to take driving lessons to improve skills or get used to vehicle modifications.
• Required to have a further on-road assessment after completing these lessons.
• Asked to wait for further recovery or improvement to occur.
• Found not safe to continue or to resume driving at this point in time.

If it is determined not possible for a person to drive safely and legally, our Registered OT Driving Assessor can support their ability to travel in other ways e.g., provide public transport training, investigate funding for taxis and rideshares and connect people to community transport service providers within their area.

Before booking:

• Obtain referral and medical clearance from your GP or specialist. This can be completed online by simply clicking the 'submit an OT Driving Assessment' referral below to be directed to the correct page or downloading and filling out Kemp Allied Health OT Driving Assessment Referral and Medical Clearance
• Have valid driver's license or learner's permit. If you are unable to obtain a learner’s permit due to medical concerns, a referral from a health professional is required to proceed with an assessment.