Yessss! How crazy expensive is it!! I’m sorry that I don’t live in your area to give you names but I can say that we did the same thing with our daughter and only got 2 paid lessons when we felt she was ready, the instructor we chose used to work for the RTA and so knew the routes the testers took for the actual driving test. If you really wanted to and had the extra time you could go down to your test depot and watch the route the testers take so you can practice it with your child

A good thing to do is to ask around friends and family for recommendations for driving instructors and driving schools. Friends and family are quite likely to give very honest and open reviews about driving instructors and driving schools. Maybe there is a discount for the number of lessons or possible incentives?

The cost of driving lessons can indeed be expensive but also well worth the cost. Maybe find out from online forums or networks about different driving schools and the associated costs. It really does pay to shop around for everything and find the best price and that includes driving lessons.

We paid for 5 lessons to give our children the right pointers from the very start. We had the kids drive us everywhere and the hours were made up quite fast. Do your research look for driving schools that offer packages. Ask family and friends and neighbours if anyone is willing to give your child a FREE lesson and use their or your car.

Sorry we’re in Queensland so can’t really advise you.
Good thing is that you have some time to look around as they have to do 100 hours of supervised driving which includes 10 hours of night driving before they can go for a test.
With our oldest two we did it mostly ourselves. My daughter passed the test at the second attempt without any professional lessons.
My son failed a couple of times and we booked him about five lessons

I can’t help you unfortunately but I remember when I was learning to drive, my parents made me get a job to pay for the lessons and I think this was very encouraging. Have you considered getting your child to get an after school job to help pay for lessons? It might be worth looking into.

I do not ahve a referral for affordable driving lessons, however can offer an alternative view on the balancing driving practice with professional lessons.

I would suggest planning for 3 lessons at the end, then getting the instructors feedback on your sons readiness for the test. Initially driving with you or a family member or friend will give him more opportunities to be on the road and help you to build both his and your confidence. I would suggest starting in an empty car park to get comfortable with controls, then progressing to quiet suburban streets – bonus if there are those little round about- to practice and progressively moving to more complex environments. This staged approach can reduce nerves and develop good habits that are embedded before formal lessons.

I’m sorry, I’m in the ACT so I don’t know, and I don’t even know if our rules are the same. My son has a disability so we’ve had to pay for specialist lessons anyway. I have to say that while it makes me wince, I do think professional lessons are better in the end than teaching him ourselves.

I’m in NSW so I don’t know of any driving schools in SA. When my daughter was learning to drive we paid for 10 lessons with the NRMA – paying for ten lessons was cheaper than paying for them individually. It was a few years back and cost over $600 which is a huge outlay but we felt it was worth it because we wanted her to learn from instructors who would be calm and professional and teach her about rules, safety etc. She used about six of those lessons at the beginning and from there my husband and I felt she had enough confidence for us to then take over and help her get experience and the hours she needed to log. She used the remainder of those lessons just before she went for her license to get an idea of what the driving test would be like and to correct anything that needed correcting. It is a huge expense but in my opinion it’s worth it to ensure your child becomes a safe and confident driver.