Terms & Conditions

1. About these terms

These terms apply when you book, buy or use any service from Golden Road Driving Academy, including driving lessons, lesson packs, mock driving tests and test day packages.

Golden Road Driving Academy is the business name of Pritpal (Paul) Singh, a sole trader based in Alkimos, Western Australia (ABN 85 269 120 487). In these terms, "we", "us" and "GRDA" mean Golden Road Driving Academy, and "you" means the student. If the student is under 18, "you" also includes the parent or guardian who makes or approves the booking.

By booking or paying, you agree to these terms. Please read them before you book. If anything is unclear, call or text 0403 089 100 before booking.

Your rights under Australian Consumer Law

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, including that they will be provided with due care and skill and within a reasonable time.

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or changes those rights. Where these terms say a fee is non-refundable, or that a fee applies to a refund, this applies to change-of-mind situations and to refunds we choose to give. It does not apply to any remedy you are entitled to under the Australian Consumer Law.

2. Who can book

• You must hold a current Western Australian learner’s permit, or a current driver’s licence that allows you to drive in WA (for example, an overseas licence you are converting).
• If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to these terms on your behalf. They may be asked to confirm this when booking.
• You must tell us before your first lesson about any medical condition, medication or injury that could affect your ability to drive safely.
• We teach automatic driving lessons only.

3. Booking and payment

• Lessons are booked online through our booking system (Acuity Scheduling) or directly with us.
• Payment is made at the time of booking, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
• We accept Visa and Mastercard. Selected packages can also be paid with Afterpay or Klarna through the secure Stripe checkout on our Afterpay page.
• Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST where it applies. Current prices are shown on our Lessons & Pricing page.
• If you pay with Afterpay or Klarna, your payment plan is an agreement between you and that provider. Their own terms, eligibility criteria and late fees apply.

Booking codes for Afterpay and Klarna packages

After an Afterpay or Klarna purchase, email your receipt to admin@goldenroaddriving.com.au. Once we confirm the payment, we will email you a booking code so you can book your lessons online.

4. Refunds

Change of mind

Payments for lessons, lesson packs and test day packages are not refundable for change of mind. Instead, unused payments are kept as credit for future lessons, as set out in these terms.

Refunds we choose to give

In some situations we may agree to give a refund even though we are not required to, for example under our First Lesson Promise or if you cannot use a lesson pack. Any refund of this kind:

• must be requested in writing by email;
• is assessed against the conditions in these terms, and we will explain our decision in writing; and
• if approved, has a 25% administration fee deducted. This covers booking, payment processing, scheduling and administration costs that cannot be recovered.

Refunds you are entitled to by law

If we cancel a service and cannot offer a suitable new time, or we fail to meet a consumer guarantee and a refund is the appropriate remedy, we will refund you in full. No administration fee applies to these refunds.

How refunds are paid

Refunds are paid to the original payment method. Refunds for Afterpay or Klarna purchases are processed back through that provider, which adjusts your payment plan.

5. Changes, cancellations and lateness

If you need to change or cancel

• 24 hours’ notice or more: you can move your lesson at no cost, or keep the payment as credit for a future lesson.
• Less than 24 hours’ notice, or no-show: the lesson fee is forfeited, because we generally cannot fill the time at short notice.
• Notice can be given by phone, text, email or through the booking system. The time we receive your notice is the time that counts.

Emergencies

If you cannot attend because of a genuine emergency, such as sudden illness, injury or a family emergency, contact us as soon as you can. We will consider moving the lesson without charge, and may ask for reasonable evidence.

If you are late

Lessons start and finish at the booked time. If you are late, we will wait, but the lesson still finishes at the booked time so the next student is not affected. If you are more than 15 minutes late and have not contacted us, we may treat the lesson as a cancellation with less than 24 hours’ notice.

If we need to cancel or are late

If we cancel a lesson, or cannot start it because of a delay on our side, you can choose to rebook at no extra cost or receive a full refund for that lesson. If we are late, we will make up the lost time at the end of the lesson or at your next lesson, whichever you prefer.

Weather and safety

If road or weather conditions make a lesson unsafe, we may reschedule it at no cost to you.

6. Lesson packs and credit

• Lesson packs are paid in advance and priced at a discount to single lessons.
• Lesson pack credit is valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. Unused credit expires after that date.
• Pack credit can only be used by the student it was bought for, unless we agree in writing to transfer it.
• Lesson packs are not refundable for change of mind.

Anytime Driving Lesson Pack

• The Anytime Driving Lesson Pack is 10 hours (600 minutes) of credit for weekday lessons, night lessons from 6pm, Sunday lessons and mock driving tests.
• Each booking uses the length of that lesson. Sunday lessons are 2 hours, so you need at least 2 hours of credit left to book one.
• Test day packages are not included and are booked and paid for separately.

P-Plate Pack

• The P-Plate Pack includes 9 one-hour lessons and one Test Day: Meet at Centre (a 1-hour warm-up lesson, then use of our car for your PDA), a total of 10 hours of lessons.
• The test day part follows the rules in Driving test (PDA) packages, including what happens if DoT cancels or the test cannot go ahead.
• For refund and credit purposes, the test day part is valued at our Test Day: Meet at Centre price, and each lesson at our single-lesson price.

If you cannot use your pack

If you cannot use your remaining credit because of serious illness or injury, or because you have moved out of our service area, you can request a refund of the unused credit in writing. If approved, lessons already taken are charged at the single-lesson price for that type of lesson (weekday, night or Sunday), and the 25% administration fee applies to the amount refunded (see Refunds).

7. Driving test (PDA) packages

Our test day packages include use of our dual-control automatic car for your Department of Transport (DoT) Practical Driving Assessment (PDA). Some packages also include a warm-up lesson, and home pick-up and drop-off. The P-Plate Pack includes one Test Day: Meet at Centre.

For these terms, a package has two parts: the warm-up lesson, valued at our standard 60-minute lesson price, and the car hire, which is the rest of the package price. The Test Car Only package is car hire only.

• You are responsible for booking your PDA with DoT and paying DoT’s fees, unless we have agreed in writing to help you book.
• Send us your test date, time and centre as soon as you have them.
• If you want our help to find or book a PDA date, you must give us your consent and the details DoT requires. Never share your passwords with us.

If DoT cancels or reschedules your test

• DoT gives you 24 hours’ notice or more: tell us straight away and we will move your full package to your new test date at no cost.
• DoT cancels on the day, or with less than 24 hours’ notice (for example, examiner illness, weather or a DoT system issue): the warm-up lesson is charged if it has already been given. 50% of the car hire is credited towards your rebooked test with us. The credit is valid for 6 months.
• DoT’s own test fees are managed by DoT. Please check with DoT whether your test fee is carried over when it cancels a test.

If we decide you are not ready

We may decline to provide our car for a PDA if, in the instructor’s professional opinion, you are not safe or not ready to sit the test. We will explain why. You will only pay for lesson time already given. The rest of the package will be kept as credit for future lessons or a rebooked test, or refunded in full if you prefer.

If the test cannot go ahead because of you

If the test cannot go ahead because of something within your control, the package fee is forfeited, because we have already reserved the time and car. Examples include arriving late, not bringing the ID or documents DoT requires, an incomplete logbook, or being unfit to drive.

No pass guarantee

We prepare you to the best of our ability, but DoT assessors decide the result. We cannot guarantee that you will pass, and test day packages are not refunded because of a test result.

8. The Gold Standard First Lesson Promise

We want you to be happy with your first lesson. If you are not, our First Lesson Promise works like this:

• Who it is for: new students, for their first paid lesson only. It applies once per student and does not apply to later lessons, lesson packs, mock tests or test day packages.
• Step 1, tell us: email admin@goldenroaddriving.com.au within 48 hours after your first lesson, explaining what you were not happy with.
• Step 2, free make-up lesson: we will offer you one free 60-minute make-up lesson to put it right. This must be taken within 30 days.
• Step 3, refund if still not satisfied: if you are still not satisfied after the make-up lesson, email us within 48 hours of it. We will refund the price of your first lesson, less the 25% administration fee. The make-up lesson is not refunded, because it was free.

If you do not take the free make-up lesson, the refund in Step 3 is not available. You can of course stop lessons at any time.

This promise is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. If your first lesson was not provided with due care and skill, you may be entitled to a remedy without these conditions or the administration fee.

9. Service area and pick-up

We teach in the suburbs listed on our service area page, within about 30 km of Alkimos. You can check your suburb with the suburb finder on our home page.

• Please make sure your pick-up address is in our service area before you book.
• If you book a pick-up outside our service area, we will try to start the lesson from the nearest suitable point inside the area. If that is not possible, the booking is treated as a cancellation with less than 24 hours’ notice.
• Lessons in the 5-hour night pack start from Joondalup Station or Butler Station, as selected at checkout.
• Lesson time is driving time. Our travel between lessons does not reduce your lesson.

10. Your licence and ID

We must confirm that everyone who drives our car holds a valid learner’s permit or licence. This is required by road traffic law and by our insurer.

• Before or at your first lesson, show us your current permit or licence, or upload a copy through the booking system.
• Overseas licence holders may also be asked to show a passport or other photo ID.
• If you cannot show a valid permit or licence, you cannot drive our car, and the lesson is treated as a cancellation with less than 24 hours’ notice.

We handle your ID as explained in our Privacy Policy.

11. Safety in the car

• Our car is registered, insured, roadworthy and fitted with dual controls.
• Your instructor is accredited by the Department of Transport and holds a National Police Clearance and a Working With Children Check.
• You must follow your instructor’s directions. The instructor may use the dual controls or take over steering at any time to keep everyone safe.
• Learner drivers in WA must have a zero blood alcohol level. You must not drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication that affects driving.
• We may end a lesson early, and the fee is forfeited, if you are affected by alcohol or drugs, deliberately drive dangerously, or behave in an abusive or threatening way.
• The driver must not use a mobile phone during a lesson.

12. In-car cameras and recording

For everyone’s safety, our car is fitted with cameras that record video and audio inside and outside the car during lessons and test day services. A notice is displayed in the car.

• By booking, you (and, if you are under 18, your parent or guardian) consent to being recorded during lessons and test day services.
• Recordings are used only for safety, to record road incidents, for insurance and legal claims, and to give you driving feedback.
• We will never post your recordings, photos or name on social media or our website without your separate written permission.
• Recordings are normally deleted automatically within 30 days, unless they are needed for an incident, claim or complaint.
• If you do not agree to being recorded, tell us before your lesson so we can discuss it with you.

13. Learning to drive: risks and responsibility

Risks of learning to drive

Driving involves risk, and learner drivers are still developing their skills. Our instructor supervises every lesson and uses dual controls to reduce that risk. However, you understand that minor incidents can still happen during learning, even when we take all reasonable care.

What we are responsible for

We are responsible for providing our services with due care and skill, and for loss or injury caused by our negligence or by a failure to meet a consumer guarantee. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits that responsibility, or any right you have under the Australian Consumer Law.

What we are not responsible for

To the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for:

• loss, damage or injury to the extent it is caused by you deliberately or recklessly ignoring the instructor’s directions, or breaking the law;
• indirect losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when you booked, such as lost wages, or travel costs for a test that did not go ahead for reasons not caused by us; or
• delays or problems caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as DoT cancellations or system outages, severe weather, road closures or outages of our booking and payment providers.

Your responsibility

You are responsible for, and agree to cover us for, loss or damage to the extent it is caused by you deliberately or recklessly ignoring the instructor’s directions, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or giving us false information about your licence, permit or fitness to drive.

14. Damage, fines and insurance excess

Our car is fully insured. Who pays the insurance excess depends on whether your instructor is in the car with you.

During lessons and mock tests

Your instructor supervises every lesson from the passenger seat and can use the dual controls. So if there is an accident while you are driving during a lesson, a mock test or the warm-up lesson before your test, we cover the insurance excess.

The only exception is if the accident happens because you deliberately ignore your instructor’s directions (for example, refusing to slow down or stop when told to). In that case you pay our insurance excess of $1,050. We will show you the in-car camera footage and explain our decision in writing before charging anything.

On test day, during your driving test (PDA)

When you use our car for your PDA, the DoT assessor is in the car and your instructor is not. If there is an accident during the test:

• You are at fault: you pay our insurance excess of $1,050.
• You are not at fault: no excess is charged to you.

How fault is decided, and the most you pay

Fault is decided by the insurance claim outcome, taking into account any police report and our in-car camera footage. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian is responsible for any excess. You never pay more than the excess for accident damage to our car, except in the situations in the “Your responsibility” part of these terms.

Traffic fines

When you are driving, you are the driver in the eyes of the law, even with an instructor beside you. Your instructor will always guide you on speed limits and road rules, but you are responsible for how you drive.

• If you are fined for a traffic offence you commit while driving our car, you are responsible for the fine. This includes offences caught by speed or red-light cameras, and fines issued by police.
• Camera fines are sent to us as the registered owner of the car. We will nominate you as the driver to the issuing authority, so the fine, and any demerit points, are issued in your name. We will tell you when we do this and give you a copy of the notice.
• If a fine cannot be transferred to you, you agree to repay us the amount of the fine only. We will not add any extra fee.
• You are not responsible for a fine if the offence happened because you were following your instructor’s directions.
• If you are under 18, your parent or guardian is responsible for making sure any fine is paid.

15. Booking and payment providers

We use trusted third-party services to run our business, including Acuity Scheduling for bookings, and Stripe, Afterpay and Klarna for payments. If one of these services has an outage or error, we will help you rebook or pay another way.

16. Feedback and complaints

If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please tell us first so we can put it right. Contact Paul on 0403 089 100 or admin@goldenroaddriving.com.au. We aim to respond within 2 business days.

If we cannot resolve your complaint, you can contact Consumer Protection WA.

17. Changes and general terms

• We may update these terms from time to time. The version on our website when you book applies to that booking. Changes do not apply to lessons or packs you have already paid for, unless the change is in your favour.
• These terms are governed by the laws of Western Australia.
• All content on our website, including text, photos, videos, logos and guides, belongs to Golden Road Driving Academy and must not be copied or used for commercial purposes without our written permission.
• Our driving test tips and guides are general information only, not legal advice. Road rules and DoT requirements can change, so always check the latest information with the Department of Transport WA.
• Links to other websites (such as Transport WA, Afterpay, Klarna or Google) are provided to help you. We do not control those websites and are not responsible for their content.
• If any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that part is removed and the rest continues to apply.
• How we collect and use your personal information is explained in our Privacy Policy.

18. Contact us

Golden Road Driving Academy
Pritpal (Paul) Singh, sole trader
ABN 85 269 120 487
Alkimos, Western Australia
Phone and text: 0403 089 100 (every day, 7am–9pm)
Email: admin@goldenroaddriving.com.au