Australian driver's licences to get smart? - News - Security

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Australian driver's licences to get smart?

By Vivienne Fisher, ZDNet Australia
February 20, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Australian-driver-s-licences-to-get-smart-/0,130061744,120263557,00.htm

Following moves by a number of other countries to ramp up the security of identity cards, NSW's Roads and Traffic Authority is assessing whether to use smartcard technology for driver's licences.

Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) spokesperson Murray Hillan told ZDNet Australia that it was currently assessing whether smartcard technologies were suitable for Australian driver's licences.

The US is reportedly looking at introducing biometrics for its driver's licences, but that's not an option in Australia, according to Hillan.

-Those kinds of technologies are somewhat invasive and have the potential to impinge on the privacy rights of individuals,- Hillan said. -From our point of view they're not entirely suitable for what we need."

Hillan said the RTA was looking at smartcard technology, because it would make the driver's licence more secure from issues such as counterfeiting.

-We're just looking at what's been achieved overseas and seeing if its applicable to our situation," he said.

-We want to thoroughly check out the potential applications and the reliability of the technology--to see it will do what we want it to do."

Following assessment of the technology itself, Hillan said the RTA would also need to look at any legal and legislative ramifications of changing to use smartcards.