How carrying a driver’s licence could soon be phased out
Drivers in Sydney’s eastern suburbs are now able to sign up for a digital driver’s licence.
The technology is still being trialled, but if it’s successful your smart phone may soon be all you need to prove your identity.
“Smart phones have already become the de facto wallet,” Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello said.
“You can already put movie tickets on them, do shopping on them, do banking on them.”
Now, you can use them as ID when asked by police or to gain entry into a licensed venue.
NSW Acting Superintendent Sam Crisafulli said it may also see a reduction in fraud and stolen mail.
A digital version is hard to fake because it contains animated logos and requires a PIN.
Drivers in the eastern suburbs can take part in the trial through a Service NSW online account.
The area has been chosen for the trial because it has hundreds of clubs, pubs and restaurants, as well as 140,000 licence holders.
“The people in the eastern suburbs are very connected, very tech-savvy,” Coogee MP Bruce Notley-Smith said.
“And I think they’d appreciate having a go at this.”
A similar pilot in Dubbo had an 83 per cent satisfaction rating.
The trial is open to drivers, learners and P-platers, but motorists are being urged to hang on to their plastic licence during the trial period.
If successful, any future roll-out will be “opt in” only.
