The Premier defended the government’s decision to combine Roads and Maritime services with other state government services under the one roof, a change that has been rolled out across NSW starting with Kiama four years ago.

Ms Berejiklian said wait times will not be affected by the move.

“In the bad old days I used to take a book to read when I was renewing my license but there won’t be any time to read a book when you’re here,” she said.

“You’ll be getting great service welcomed by a person who’s across the detail.”

However, the Premier refused to define what’s considered to be an acceptable waiting time.

“It depends on the inquiry, some people will have very simple renewals and they’ll be in and out very quickly,” she said.

“One thing I can assure you is of that we have very committed and passionate staff that will try and deal with you as quickly as possible.”

There will be 18 full time Service NSW staff trained to address more than 970 different types of transactions at the centre.

South Coast MP Shelley Hancock said she was pleased with the location of the site.

“I know we were facing a few contentious issues at the start, we didn’t want to exacerbate parking issues in Nowra’s CBD,” she said.

“It’s been put in the right place, I come down here to go to Spotlight, and I can always get a park.”

Ms Berejiklian was impressed with staff and the size of the service centre on 28 Central Avenue.

“You can tell by the attitude of the professional people I’ve met today the way they’re going to respond to people who walk through the door,” she said.

The RMS office on the corner Flinders Road and Cumberland Avenue, South Nowra, will no longer be in use from Friday on.

The Service NSW centre will be open extended hours from 8.30am to 5.30pm weekdays, and 8.30am to 12.30pm Saturday.