Francesca Rudkin: My take on digital drivers licenses

On its own, you wonder what’s the point of moving in this direction when we have perfectly good drivers licences in our back pockets. But it’s not really about the driver’s licence, it's about creating an app like NSW has, which allows people to do a whole lot of government related transactions simply and easily from their phones.    Things like: car registrations, a WOF, paying road user chargers, road tolls, Inland Revenue and tax payments, dealing with superannuation and benefit payments – maybe even paying parking tickets. The lot!   Which makes sense. We deal with so much of this online already, why not put in an ‘all-in-one’ place. NSW rolled out the digital drivers licence  in 2019 and today over 80% of drivers use their licence via the app.   It's good to see the Minister acknowledge we need to have choice around this. A digital licence  system can’t exclude those who don’t have access to the necessary technology or simply prefer to keep things offline. Groups like the elderly, rural communities in areas with poor connectivity, and people with low incomes could be disproportionately affected by a full switch to digital. So, it's good Kiwis will be given the choice to go digital or stay with the plastic. Digital licences may be a modern, forward-thinking move, but they also come with privacy risks. You can put all the security in place you like, but no system is entirely immune to cyberattacks, or accidental or intentional leaks. As I mentioned, much of what we do is already online, and I appreciate IDs will be decentralised and stored next to no personal information, but as our use of the app increases, will that remain the case?   I’m probably sounding a little paranoid, but after having almost fallen for a sophisticated scam which used hacked information, I’m not relaxed about the amount of data I have online.  So if we’re going to do it, we do it well. This can’t be rushed. It must be the best version it can be from the start.   I’m a person who never buys the first version of a new piece of tech. I always give a provider time to sort out the kinks, and buy the second or third generation version. I feel the same about digital drivers licences.   I can understand how practical they could be. I can appreciate how bringing everything together could make dealing with numerous government departments easier. It will even make creating fake licences harder for the kids to get into RNV.   So I’m up for it. As long as I can make the move when I’m ready. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.