A Kiama teenager was forced to wait nearly two months for his driving test, only to have it cancelled minutes before it began, leaving his family to travel 100km to Miranda so he could finally sit the exam.

Seventeen-year-old Eddie Peade had been preparing for his test for weeks, but just 15 minutes before the appointment at Kiama Service NSW last Friday, he received a call from the instructor that it could not go ahead.

Eddie’s dad, Matthew, said it was cancelled at the last minute due to a “perceived conflict of interest” because the assessor had once filled in for part of a soccer game that Eddie was involved in this year.

“They were never even in the same regular team, the season had finished, and Eddie isn’t even with that club anymore,” Matthew told The Bugle this week.

“To call that a conflict of interest is bureaucracy gone mad.”

The cancellation capped off an already frustrating wait for an appointment at Kiama Service NSW, where slots are in short supply.

Peade said his family had invested time and money in preparing Eddie for the test, and he took a day off work to drive his son to the service centre.

“Then on the way to the test we get the call that the test is off. Eddie was gutted,” Matthew said.

With no local spots available “anytime soon”, the Peades were forced to accept the only immediate alternative offered: a booking at Miranda the next day.

Eddie passed the exam, but it meant doing it in unfamiliar surrounds in Sydney’s south.

“The test is stressful enough without being in a place you’ve never even been to before,” Matthew said.

“It’s not just us. I know another family who had to go as far as Goulburn. One of Eddie’s mates sat his test there (on Monday) after his parents drove up the night before.”

Matthew said it appeared people from Sydney were also booking into the Kiama Service NSW centre, adding further pressure on locals trying to secure a test.

“They told us at Service NSW that spots were being taken up by people coming from Sydney.

"That’s just not fair on local kids who should get priority at their own centre,” he said.

The Kiama father has lodged a formal complaint with Service NSW, arguing the decision breached the agency’s own customer charter, which promises fairness and accessibility.

He also cited the NSW Government’s conflict of interest policy, which requires decisions to be proportionate and made in the public interest.

“The Government talks about integrity and accountability, but where’s the common sense?” he said.

“In smaller communities, everyone’s connected in some way. If they apply the rules this rigidly, no one’s going to be able to do their test locally.”

For the Peades, the practical impact was a day’s lost income for Matthew, extra expenses and weeks of unnecessary stress.

“I’m not usually a complainer, but this was just wrong. Eddie had been waiting nearly two months and did nothing wrong. He got caught up in bureaucracy without logic.”

Matthew called on the NSW Government to urgently review their approach.

“Local kids are being pushed to the back of the queue. We need common sense, not red tape,” he said.

A Service NSW spokesperson said it was “unfortunate that under certain circumstances, where a conflict is identified that a driver test cannot go ahead”.

“But it’s important to maintain the integrity of driver testing to ensure safe drivers on our roads,” the spokesperson said.

The agency added that while an alternative tester may be allocated if a conflict is identified early, “this may not always be possible” and apologised that Eddie Peade’s test could not be accommodated on the day.

It said demand for tests had spiked following a policy change requiring overseas drivers to convert to NSW licences if they intend to live in the state for six months or longer.

“Service NSW is employing 20 additional driver testers and holding ‘Super Saturday’ test days to meet increased demand,” the spokesperson said.

Almost half of overseas drivers failed their driving test last financial year, which has contributed to the pressure. But the agency said the backlog was close to reaching its peak.