Whether it’s for yourself or your kids who will soon, finally, be able to drive you around for a change, how do you go about choosing driving lessons in Brisbane? Top quality driving lessons can make all the difference to the confidence and progress of learner drivers.
So much so that finding the best instruction can even save you heaps of cash. How? Because fewer lessons may be needed before booking that driving test. Fewer lessons means a lower cash outlay, it can be as simple as that.
This article goes through the top driving schools in Brisbane so you can save time. So if you need to find a driving instructor in Brisbane, look no further. Included in this guide are automatic and manual driving lessons in Brisbane, options if you want to find a female driving instructor in Brisbane and the best options for cheap driving lessons in Brisbane.
Whether you want to find driving lessons in Caboolture, Brisbane Northside or Wynnum, this guide will help you discover the best suppliers of affordable, high quality driving tuition in the city and surrounding areas. Let’s get started!
Driving lessons in Brisbane | The top 7 driving schools
Ace Driving School
- RACQ approved: No
- Areas: Brisbane Southside and Northside, Gold Coast
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
If you want a headstart when it comes to your driver’s logbook, book your first ten lessons with Ace Driving School. 10 hours’ worth of their lessons are worth 30 logbook hours, which can save you time as well as money. This is another company we can recommend, based on the positive personal experiences of our families and friends.
As well as providing all the tuition needed to get that all-important driver’s licence, Ace also offers other training. This includes refresher courses for holders of overseas licences and corporate training for employees.
Ace provides full profiles of all their instructors on their website. Here you can see whether they drive a manual or an automatic, and even the make and model. You can then click to book in with the instructor – or car – you like the look of.
Coastwide Driving School
- RACQ approved: Yes
- Areas: Brisbane City, North Brisbane, Caboolture, Sunshine Coast
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
Coastwide Driving School is RACQ approved and covers Caboolture and the Sunshine Coast as well as the city and North Brisbane. If you want to find driving lessons in Hervey Bay, Rockhampton or Yeppoon, they can help. You can book lessons online or by phone.
Coastwide offers gift vouchers, plus a range of package deals that can save you money. This includes test packages and even an Afterpay option. Like other motoring schools in Brisbane, they can pick you up from school, home, college or work, and they offer manual or automatic cars.
You can choose a male or female instructor too. Again, all their profiles can be found on the company website to make your selection simpler. If you want an RACQ approved driving school in the Brisbane area, this is one that we know and love.
EasyAs Driver Training
- RACQ approved: Yes
- Areas: Brisbane – all suburbs, Gold Coast
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
There are some factors that really make EasyAs stand out among driving schools. They’re RACQ approved, and offer male and female instructors like other tuition suppliers. All but one of the vehicles have a 5 star ANCAP rating, which is the highest standard of safety available in Australia.
Without exception, the cars belonging to EasyAs are four years old or less. At EasyAs they also train their instructors for between six and eight weeks. Some schools offer only eight days’ training, so this is up to four times as much. It’s enough to impress the parents we know, for sure!
Gift vouchers worth up to $500 can be purchased from EasyAs, and you can also book silver, gold and platinum packages that can include the practical driving test. EasyAs also has a pretty decent blog on their website, which gives some useful tips on learning to drive in a fun and informative way.
Metro Driving School
- RACQ approved: Yes
- Areas: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
The success of Metro Driving School is such that the company now covers the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast as well as the city. Established in 1965, Metro is approved by the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ), and really does offer everything you could wish for. Numerous young people known by members of the Families team have had first driving test success with Metro too.
Driving lessons are a popular gift for young people aged sixteen and upwards, so the fact that you can buy gift vouchers from Metro is good news. Also lessons can be booked online in moments, and payment packages are available to spread the cost.
Metro Driving School offers all the experience and options you could wish for. Including male or female instructors and manual or automatic tuition. Whether you need driving lessons in Greenslopes, Springfield Lakes, Deception Bay or Toowong, Metro can supply an expert instructor near where you live, study or work.
You can also view the profiles of Metro instructors on the website to get an idea of who might be teaching you how to drive.
My Driving School
- RACQ approved: No
- Areas: Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Logan
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
My Driving School also offers tuition in automatic or manual cars. You can choose from over 25 male and female instructors, and all are very experienced behind the wheel. Lesson durations last an hour, 90 minutes or two hours.
Gift vouchers can be bought in advance, and package deals are also available. We love the fact that there are so many instructors to choose from, so it’s easy to find someone you get along with. And to switch to someone else if you don’t.
In our experience, drivers taught by My Driving School are careful yet confident, and enjoy the process of learning to drive as well as the results.
MyLife Driving School
- RACQ approved: No
- Areas: Brisbane – all suburbs
- Male and female instructors: No
- Manual and automatic instruction: Automatic
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
For professional, affordable tuition that’s also fun, MyLife Driving School is another that we have only heard great things about. Anxious pupils are a specialty, so go to them if you or the person who needs to learn is flustered about taking to the wheel. A low stress philosophy and positive feedback approach also helps to get the best from pupils.
Unlike larger Brisbane Driving Schools, MyLife offers tuition with the founder Peter only. He has 20 years of experience – and might even be able to help you out with a dinner recipe, due to his past life as a professional chef. He’s clearly very calm under pressure then!
Lesson plans are offered by MyLife, including test, turbo and nitro packages that include up to 10 hours of tuition.
RAC School of Motoring
- RACQ approved: No
- Areas: Brisbane – all suburbs
- Male and female instructors: Yes
- Manual and automatic instruction: Yes
- Affordable package prices: Yes
- Online booking: Yes
- Gift vouchers: Yes
RAC School of Motoring offers tuition in all city areas and suburbs. If you want to find an affordable way to take lessons from driving instructors in Brisbane, their weekly payment plan could be the answer. This was the reason one of the Families staff team signed up, and they’re also recommended for the standard of tuition offered.
The usual choices are open to RAC pupils, including pick-up and drop-off wherever you like. You can also pick a female instructor or a manual car if you prefer that over a male teacher and automatic vehicle.
We love the fact that RAC focuses on sending safer drivers out onto Queensland’s roads. We also rate the name, which has to be a tongue-in-cheek take on the Royal Automobile Association (RAC) of Great Britain!
Things to know before taking driving lessons in Brisbane
Here’s a helpful summary of all you need to know when learning to drive. This is based on the information provided on the Queensland Government website, and has been written to save you trawling through page after page of information.
How to get a learner license
You must be at least 16 years old to get your learner license. The first step to take when you want to get this is to complete the PrepL – or written – road rules test. You can take the former online, or visit a license issuing Queensland Transport customer service centre for the written version.
A learner license lasts for three years. If you’re under 25, you’ll need to rack up 100 hours plus of supervised driving experience before you can take the practical test.
PrepL
The PrepL programme ends with a test, and you need to score 90% to pass this. There are 30 questions, all multiple choice. It takes around five hours to complete PrepL, and you can enrol once you’re 15 years and 11 months old. For the written version, you need to be at least 16 years old.
Hazard perception
You also need to take a hazard perception test before you can upgrade your learner license. This test uses three-dimensional video clips and can be taken online. 25 clips are shown, and the test involves showing how you’d react in such challenging situations.
Queensland learner driver rules
- Supervisors must have held a valid open license, for the correct class of vehicle, for at least a year.
- Always correctly display yellow and black ‘L’ plates and carry your learner license.
- Also drink no alcohol and don’t be affected by drugs.
- Follow all Queensland road rules and obey any learner license conditions.
- All drivers are banned from using mobile phones, unless safely parked.
- Under-25s cannot use Bluetooth accessories, hands-free kits, the loudspeaker function or wireless headsets.
Queensland Transport Test Centres
Brisbane area
- Carseldine
- Cleveland
- Greenslopes
- Logan City
- Redcliffe
- Sherwood
- Strathpine
- Toowong
- Wynnum
Gold Coast area
- Beenleigh
- Burleigh Waters
- Currumbin Waters
- Helensvale
- Southport
10 reasons to take professional driving lessons in Brisbane
Professional driving instruction is the safest way to proceed when you want to pass your driving test – and remain a safe driver for life. So it’s pretty important!
Here are 10 good reasons why professional driving tuition is well worth forking out for.
- Your life and the lives of others on the road may depend on the quality of the tuition you receive and the skills you pick up at this stage.
- For every hour of tuition with an accredited instructor, three can be logged. This applies to the first 10 hours of tuition, making a total of 30.
- Driving instructors know the full and proper rules of the road, and can pass these directly onto you. Instead of there being the potential to pick up bad habits from family members or friends.
- Professional instructors are experienced in staying calm and neutral throughout the process. The same cannot always be said of those closest to you!
- A professional driving instructor also has teaching skills and experience.
- An individual training plan can be agreed. That way you know exactly what to expect – and that it’s tailored to your needs.
- Driving instruction is available during all hours, including daytime hours, in the evenings and at weekends. So you can fit in lessons around your life rather than the availability of a parent or other supervisor.
- You’re highly likely to practice the actual route taken on the test day while learning to drive with a professional, as they’ll know this inside out for your local test centre.
- Driving schools often offer plenty of choices – such as manual and automatic cars, male and female instructors and the option of booking lessons online.
- Gift vouchers and packages are available to help spread the cost.
PCYC Braking the Cycle programme
In Queensland, there is another way when you cannot stretch to 100 hours of professional driving instruction. And don’t have a mentor driver among your family or friends.
The PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Club) runs a volunteer programme called Braking the Cycle. This pairs up learner drivers with experienced volunteers, thus getting around the problem of young people having no access to a mentor or vehicle to learn in.
This is a free way for those with a learner’s license to rack up their 100 required hours. The mentor and student are carefully matched, and the former can help the latter to improve their self-esteem while developing safe driving habits.
This award-winning scheme is currently available at 51 PCYC clubs in Queensland. If you fancy it, they’re always looking for new volunteer driver mentors who have held a license for at least a year.
Driving lessons in Brisbane FAQs
How much does it cost to learn to drive in Brisbane?
How much you’ll pay for driving lessons in Brisbane depends on a number of factors. Paying for a package deal generally works out cheaper per hour than forking out for lessons individually. The level of tuition also counts, whether that’s a new learner driver or someone taking a refresher course.
A one hour lesson for a learner driver can cost from around $70. If you book and pay for a package in advance, the rate per hour is likely to be quite a lot lower than this. The more lessons you book at the start, the less you’ll pay per hour of expert tuition.
Where can I learn to drive in Brisbane?
In Brisbane you can learn to drive wherever you like. Your instructor can pick you up and drop you off in the location of your choice, which is ideal when you’re short of time and have places to be.
Queensland Transport offers test centres in Carseldine, Cleveland, Greenslopes, Logan City, Redcliffe, Sherwood, Strathpine, Toowong and Wynnum. Ace, Coastwide, EasyAa, Metro, MyLife, My Driving School and RAC are some of the most popular driving schools in Brisbane.
Is driving in Brisbane easy?
Bearing in mind that it’s a major city, Brisbane is pretty easy to navigate safely by car. Queenslanders drive on the left, as is the case across Australia. Speed limits are given in kilometres per hour and in built-up areas the limit is 50 kilometres per hour, unless otherwise indicated on local signage.
Is 25 hours enough for driving lessons?
For a driver aged under 25 in Queensland, 25 hours is not enough when it comes to driving practice. You must rack up 100 hours in your log book before progressing from a learner license. This can be with a professional, or an experienced driver with the right license.
If you learn with an accredited instructor, though, the first 10 hours can count as 30. The remainder must be taken as actual hours. So you could learn to drive in as little as 80 hours, if you’re under 25 and taking your test in Queensland.
Can I find a female instructor near me?
In the Brisbane area, Ace, Coastwide, EasyAa, Metro, My Driving School and RAC all offer female and male instructors. You can also choose whether to learn in a manual or automatic car.
Where will you take driving lessons in Brisbane?
We hope you’ve found this article useful and now know where to go when looking for driving lessons in Brisbane! Driving schools in Brisbane have so much to offer, including affordable payment programmes, male or female instructors and manual or automatic cars.
Where possible, investing in professional driving instruction is so worth it when you consider it can mean a lifetime of safer driving ahead. The first time you drive to pick up a Macca’s – or a friend – by yourself, trust us when we say that all those hours of driving practice and tests will finally feel so worthwhile!
