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But the unemployment rate was actually higher for 18-year-olds in Victoria than 17-year-olds.

The unemployment rate among teenagers who are trying to find work is dismally high, ranging from 11% to 18%. 41% of 17-year-olds in Victoria are working or seeking work, similar to New South Wales (39%) and Northern Territory (41%). And perhaps not being able to drive is discouraging Victorians from seeking a job in the first place. Not all 17-year-olds are looking for work many are still in school. And 17 year-olds in Victoria (especially in regional areas) should have a higher unemployment rate than 17-year-olds elsewhere in Australia. If this was the case, then in Victoria there should be a higher unemployment rate for 17-year-olds than 18-year olds.

The argument is that setting the minimum driving age at 18 is putting Victorian 17-year-olds at a disadvantage compared to 18-year-olds who can potentially drive to job opportunities. We found there is no evidence to suggest the existing 18-year-old probationary driving age is linked to a high youth unemployment rate in Victoria.Īccording to census data, 82% of people used a car to travel to work in 2011.

Michael Byrne (a recent graduate of Monash University) and I analysed data from the most recent Australian Census, in 2011. But if a reduction in Victoria’s youth unemployment rate is what is wanted, lowering the state’s driving age to 17 is not the way to achieve it. The inquiry was prompted by concerns that the high licensing age is contributing to youth unemployment, especially in regional areas. After hours of hearings and hundreds of submissions, the state government decided to extend the date the inquiry will report from November 2016 to March 2017. This disparity prompted a Victorian parliamentary inquiry to investigate the possibility of lowering Victoria’s probationary driving age to 17. The minimum age is 17 in all other states and territories, except the Northern Territory (16 years and six months). Victoria is currently the only Australian state where the earliest opportunity for unsupervised driving is 18.