ARSF ambassador and Supercars champion Craig Lowndes, OCP general manager Jebb Hutchison, OCP program manager Catherine Coysh, driver-mentor program participant Jakohda Holland-Wiesner, OCP program manager Darren Moffitt, and Russell White, founder and chair of the Australian Road Safety Foundation, at the ARSF Awards event at Parliament House, Canberra. Photo: Bradley Cummings.
A Riverina driver-mentor program for First Nations people has won a national road safety award.
On-Country Pathways took home the Indigenous Programs Award 2025 at the Australian Road Safety Awards in Canberra.
The program is a free service available to young First Nations people to build up their 120 supervised driving hours with five full-time drivers (three of whom are fully qualified driving instructors) and several casual driver-mentors with specific youth Aboriginal mental health first aid training.
On-Country Pathways general manager Jebb Hutchison said the program began with four vehicles and was now approaching its 100th P-plater.
“We launched the Driver-Mentor Program with four donated used vehicles and at the time, we had an idea that learning to drive would help more young mob in regional areas get to work safely,” Mr Hutchison said.
“It wasn’t until we were applying for Indigenous Skills and Employment Program funding – working with hundreds of mob in Riverina communities on the co-design of our employment and driver-mentor programs – that we realised what a massive barrier to employment not having a licence is in rural and regional areas.
“The independence being able to drive gives young people living in rural and regional areas cannot be understated.
“We have P-platers able to get themselves to TAFE and uni, to job interviews, to their full-time or part-time work, to sport and to catch up with their friends.”
Yorta Yorta woman and program participant Jakohda Holland-Wiesner said the program had helped her get one step closer to being able to travel without relying on her brother.
“I only had 30 hours in my logbook when I started on the program in March and now, I am close to 120 hours and can go for my Ps in October,” the 18-year-old said.
“I can’t wait because then I’ll be driving myself to work in the car I bought with my earnings, and I won’t have to rely on my brother for a lift all the time.
“My sister is 16 and is applying for her Ls then she’ll start building up her supervised driving hours with On-Country Pathways’ Driver-Mentor Program as well.”
“This program is helping to change young lives and assist families across the region. In many cases, the young person with their Ps is the first driver in the family and this can help enormously with things like taking siblings to school and helping family members get to medical appointments,” Mr Hutchison said.
Since it launched in late 2022, the program has helped almost 100 young people across 16 locations in the Riverina Murray region, including Wagga, to gain their P plates.
A further 212 learner drivers are building up their hours.
In addition to supervised driving hours, the program also includes practical workshops focused on vehicle safety and basic maintenance skills, such as changing a wheel, checking tyre pressure, refuelling and conducting oil and water checks.
On-Country Pathways driver-mentor Simone Fox said the Driver-Mentor Program offered more than just supervised driving.
“Driving is only part of what we do,” Ms Fox said. “We use an app called WellMob that offers social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for First Nations people, to have conversations and check in with our young drivers.
“Often our participants end up on one of our employment programs as well as a result of a conversation we have had about job hunting or goals after leaving school.”
