Hon Alison Xamon asks the Transport Minister about enabling identity theft victims to apply for new driver's licence numbers. The Minister responds that due to system limitations, this is not possible, but alternative measures are being developed.

AnsweredQoN 2654Legislative Council
Asked
30 October 2019
Portfolio
Transport

QuestionView source ↗

I
refer to victims of identity theft in Western Australia (WA) who are currently not permitted to
apply for a new driver’s licence number when their licence has been compromised
by criminals, thus leaving them vulnerable to further abuse, and I ask: (a) does
the WA Government intend to enable WA victims of identity theft, to apply for a
new driver’s licence number; (b) if
yes to (a): (i) when
is it anticipated changes will be made; and (ii) what
mechanisms will be used; and (c) if
no to (a), why not?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
5 December 2019
Responded by
Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Transport
Response time
12 days
(a)-(c) Due to current system designs and integration with the WA Police Force, the Department of Justice and interstate government record systems, the Department of Transport (DoT) will not change a person’s driver’s licence number. Driver’s licence numbers are used by DoT and law enforcement agencies as a prime identifier of drivers and riders in WA, and are linked to driving history and traffic records.
DoT has an interim manual process in place to alter details on a compromised driver’s licence, to prevent the validation if further fraudulent attempts are made to use the card or card details.
DoT is developing a solution in the use of a unique serial number printed on the driver’s licence card that would flag and invalidate lost or stolen cards.

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