NSW drivers eagerly awaiting a digital driving license will have to wait a bit longer as the state government will delay implementation until the end of the year.
According to iTNews, the statewide rollout was due to start in August, but by September already, the Service NSW website has been updated to indicate that digital licenses will be issued from "late 2019", with no precise date to date.
Until then, the trial that began in Dubbo in October 2017 will continue, but is now open to citizens from Sydney's eastern suburbs and the border town of Albury.
Long time to come
We first found out that digital driving licenses would be coming to NSW in 2015, when the government at the time had taken this into account. However, it was a few more years before the start of the trial, for which the NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Victor Dominello, described as a "great success" to which the drivers congratulated.
Legislation allowing state drivers to introduce digital licenses instead of a physical alternative was introduced in May 2018, and more than 14,000 people are currently taking part in the trial.
All participants must be in possession of their physical license for the duration of the test, as not all checkpoints are equipped to verify digital versions. In participating areas, citizens can use the Service NSW app to show their digital license when asked during police checks or to enter clubs and cafes.
Once the implementation has been rolled out to all states, NSW will be the second state in Australia to use digital licences. South Australia made its use optional in November 2017.