driver licence
supporting taiohi to drive
In your early engagements with taiohi you should ask them if they have a driver licence. It’s a good idea to record their Driver Licence status in ART – even if they don’t have a licence. This means that you will be able to easily see which taiohi have a licence if any spaces on the DLS programme become available at short notice. To do this:
- Go to their ART profile
- Go Overview tab > Milestone tab, you will see a coloured licence status in the milestone checklist. Click on the Driver Licence Status link.
- If the driver licence status before was red, you will be taken to the ‘Confirm Driver Licence Achievement screen. Here you can select their driver licence type (or confirm that they have no licence).
If the driver licence status was yellow or green, you will take you to the Driver Licence Details screen. On this screen, you can:
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- edit the 'No Licence' status to add the licence achieved, or
- 'Add Another Licence' if a licence has already been recorded. In this situation, selecting 'Add Another licence' will automatically add the next level of licence from the Driver Licence Achievement screen drop down menu.
the driver licence support programme
The DLS programme is there to support people to overcome barriers so that they can get a class 1 New Zealand driver licence. It is available for all levels of licence – learner, restricted and full.
Spaces in the Driver Licence Support programme are limited and taiohi will need to meet the eligibility criteria to participate in MSD's Driver Licence Support (DLS) programme.
If taiohi don’t have a licence, or only have a learners or restricted licence it’s a good idea to talk to them and see if it is something they are interested in getting a licence (or a higher class level licence). If they are interested, put it in their Youth Service plan and have a discussion about how it links to their other goals.
You can tell them that you can support them to apply to the DLS programme. It’s a good idea to let them know that places in the programme are limited, but you can help them access other support if they do not get accepted.
The driver licence support programme referral process
- Go to the Family Services Directory website.
- Select the driver licence 'Need help getting your driver's licence?' tile to bring up a list of Driver Licence Support (DLS) providers.
- A list of providers will be listed from your search results. Filter so that only results from your area show up.
- Scroll through the searched results to locate a DLS provider near you. Driver Licence Support programme providers will have a ‘DLS’ classification on their listing – make sure you pick one of these.
- Have the young person get in touch with the DLS provider or provide support in contacting them
For more information on the process (including pictures) go to step-by-step self-referral process - driver licences eLearning module
other ways to support taiohi get their licence
Another way you can support taiohi to get their licence is by using Drive, a free website and online learning tool Developed by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and ACC to help young people become safe, skilled and licensed drivers.
You can use Drive to support young people getting their learner, restricted, or full licence. Find out more on the Drive website: Learn to drive | Drive