NSW's digital driver's licence trial spreads to Sydney

Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs will host the first metro trial of NSW’s electronic vehicle licence from November this year.

The NSW government today announced the next locations for its digital driver’s licence trial following a pilot of the technology in Dubbo over the last six months.

The expansion will see more than 140,000 drivers from the Eastern Beaches region entitled to use the opt-in digital driver licence for police checks and gaining entry to pubs and clubs in the trial area.

Eligible suburbs include Bondi Junction, Bronte, Waverley, Bondi, Tamarama, Randwick, Clovelly and Coogee.

However, drivers will still be required to carry their physical driver’s licences through the trial period.

The metro trial represents the next major step toward the government introducing digital driver’s licences and digital photo cards state-wide by the end of 2019.

It passed the underlying legislation in May, requiring citizens to ensure they can produce either a digital or physical version of their licence when requested to do so by police.

The legislation also addresses privacy concerns by only requiring driver to display their digital licence to police.