Data from drivers’ licences will be uploaded to the Federal Government’s National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution after the Victorian Government agreed to join the program.
In a statement on the decision, the Victorian Government said it would improve the way VicRoads and Victoria Police can monitor for fraudulent or duplicate IDs.
The upload will make it easier for authorised government agencies to identify fake licences or multiple IDs connected to a single individual and stop potential fraud.
Drivers’ licences are the most common form of identification used in Australia, but current image-based identification methods can be cumbersome, with sharing between agencies sometimes taking days or even longer to process.
This agreement will help get dangerous drivers off our roads by reducing the chance of people using multiple licences to avoid demerit points or licence cancellations.
It will also provide agencies with increased capabilities to prevent, detect and investigate identity crime, which impacts around one in every four Australians, costing about $2.2 billion a year.
Victoria has agreed only to upload the data to the system and make it available to other Victorian-based government agencies.
Any further use – by federal authorities or other states – will not be authorised until Victoria is satisfied with the proposed Identity-matching Services Bill currently before the Federal Parliament.
Victoria Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings said: “This technology will help keep government agencies ahead of the pack when it comes to combating identity fraud, which is one of the most common and costly crimes facing our state.
“We are doing this as part of a national agreement, while ensuring the privacy of Victorians is not compromised.”
Do you support this move by the Victorian Government? Is it too big a risk to privacy having your data stored in a national database?
If you enjoy our content, don’t keep it to yourself. Share our free eNews with your friends and encourage them to sign up.
Related articles:
Need a break? Avoid your phone
Google to reimburse flights
Should I use Apple Pay?
