2654. Hon Alison Xamon to the minister representing the Minister for Transport:
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?
Hon Stephen Dawson replied:
(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.