"Failing the restricted first time round can be disheartening for a young person [but] as long as they get good feedback from the instructor, they can go away and practise and come back for a second time."
Ms Leitao said the high fail rate would probably begin to drop over time.
"The driving instructors know what the expectations are now."
People have also realised what the changes are and how much practise is required for the test, she said.
Figures also showed about 8900 motorists in New Zealand had their restricted exams cut short due to critical errors such as being involved in a collision, driving at excessive speed and ignoring instructions.
One hundred were from the South Taranaki district.
The 2011 national pass rate for the previous restricted test was 81 per cent.
NZTA spokesman Andrew Knackstedt said the new test was designed to better prepare novice drivers and the organisation made no apology for that.
"New Zealand has one of the highest rates of teen road deaths in the OECD.
"We have made it very clear from the beginning that this is a more challenging test and we encourage people to ensure they are adequately prepared before sitting it."
But Mr Knackstedt said the pass rate was expected to climb gradually as people recognised the need to put in more preparation and latest figures suggested that was happening. The pass rate has risen from 38 per cent in March to 52 per cent last month.
Controversy around the current test flared after an internal NZ Driver Licensing memo was leaked to the media last month.
Written by national operations manager Gerard Clark, the memo said the pass rate for the current exam should be about 40 per cent.
In March - a month after the test was introduced - the pass rate plummeted to 38 per cent.
Mr Knackstedt denied the existence of set rates.
"There is no target for pass or fail rates and there is no quota. There is however, an expectation that the test will be applied with a degree of consistency around the country.
"The fact of the matter is that more than 50 per cent of applicants are now passing restricted licence tests," he said.
"People are getting the message that this is a harder test [and] they are putting in more preparation." APNZ
Between February 27 and September 14:
National
20,863 drivers sat the restricted licence test
12,291 or 59 per cent failed
5938 resat
2882 failed a second time
South Taranaki
340 drivers sat the restricted licence test
220 or 65 per cent failed
131 resat
52 failed a second time