Queensland launches statewide digital driver licences after three-year trial

Queensland has become the third Australian jurisdiction to allow motorists to keep a digital driver licence on their smartphones, following a three-year trial in the state’s north.

From today, all Queensland motorists will be able to download the ‘Queensland Digital Licence’ application for Apple and Android smartphones, which can be linked to their physical driver licence and used in place of the traditional plastic card.

However, ABC News reports Queensland motorists who have downloaded the application have experienced delays, prompting the Department of Transport and Main Roads to urge residents to wait for the faults to be resolved before downloading it.

The statewide roll-out follows a three-year trial of the application on the Fraser Coast and Townsville.

As with existing digital driver licence applications in New South Wales and South Australia, motorists who are requested to show their licence to a police officer are required to first ask if they can produce the digital driver licence before touching their smartphones.

However – like physical licences – if an open-licenced motorist’s smartphone has a flat battery and can’t produce the digital licence, they can be given a 48-hour grace period to present either form of licence at a police station.

Learner and provisional licence holders are required to carry their driver licence at all times when operating a vehicle – or incur a $154 fine and single demerit point penalty.

The digital licence is encrypted and requires users to input a six-digit code upon opening the application, where they can choose to share their driver licence information – produced via a unique QR code with a 20-second time limit.

This means the QR code will not be valid after the 20 seconds expires, making it harder for users to fraudulently screenshot and share their information to someone else.

While motorists are still required to pay their physical driver licence renewal fees – which are unchanged despite the introduction of the digital option – the introduction of the digital licence means the physical plastic card is not required to be held while driving a vehicle.

In addition to driver licences, the application can also hold proof of identification cards and maritime licences.

As reported in May, Victoria launched a digital licence trial in July 2023, and plans to roll out its own smartphone application statewide “by 2024” – though no date has yet been announced.