NSW reveals trial site for Australia's first digital driver licence

The NSW city of Dubbo will play host to a 12-month trial of Australia’s first fully electronic vehicle licence, ahead of a wider rollout across the state.

The NSW government today announced the digital driver's licence would soon become available to motorists from the central west region for use in police checks and gaining entry to pubs and clubs.

Participants of the pilot will still be required to carry their physical driver's licence through the trial period.

The findings from the trial will inform the rollout of the digital driver's licence across the state in 2019.

It follows the passage of the Electronic Transactions Legislation Amendment (Government Transactions) Bill 2017 in June, which allowed the trial to take place.

The first test of the technology was conducted by the state’s Finance department with NSW Police in June, with the purpose of informing the final design of the digital driver's licence.

The government has been progressively making licences digital since last November, starting with recreational fishing licences, responsible service of alcohol (RSA) competency cards, and responsible conduct of gambling (RSG) competency cards.

It put $8.5 million in the 2017-18 state budget towards the rollout of digital driver's licences over the next year.

“This trial is the first of its kind in Australia and will enable Dubbo motorists to view, show, update, manage, and renew their driver licence digitally,” Finance minister Victor Dominello said in a statement.