Organ donor changes coming to Victoria’s drivers’ licence system

Victoria’s shocking organ donor registration rate of just 23 per cent has prompted the government to overhaul the system by linking registration to driver’s licence renewals.

Victorians will be asked about organ donation when they obtain or renew their driver’s licence under a suite of new reforms to try and boost donor registration.

The Herald Sun can reveal all 41 recommendations from a 2024 parliamentary inquiry into increasing Victoria’s number of registered organ donors have been accepted, or supported in part, by the state government.

This includes “immediate action” to update the state’s driver’s licence system to ask Victorians if they wish to register as an organ donor, and then direct those who say “yes” to the register’s site.

They are also considering the option of bringing back the old system, still used in South Australia, where a person can list “organ donor” on their driver’s licence itself.

The government will also investigate the feasibility of a direct model, where Victoria’s licence system can update the donor register itself without requiring drivers to fill out a second form on another site.

Australian Organ Donor Register registration rates by jurisdiction in 2021. Picture: DonateLife

But they said this would require further work with the federal government, as they would need to co-ordinate a state (driver’s licence) and national (organ donor register) system.

The parliamentary inquiry, which handed its report to the government in March last year, heard just 23 per cent of Victorians were registered organ donors, compared to the national state average of 36 per cent and South Australia’s 72 per cent. The latter’s residents can register via their driver’s licence system.

Victoria’s lower rate was partially blamed on an incomplete transfer of Victorian records from the old state-based driver’s licence system to the national register in the early 2000s.

The government’s response to the inquiry, set to be tabled in parliament on Thursday, said Victoria had a higher than average donation rate, but the lower registration numbers were an issue.

“This matters: we know around eight in 10 families say yes to donation if their loved one has registered as a donor, and that this drops to four in 10 if their family did not know they wanted to be a donor.”

Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said organ donation gave Victorians a second chance at life.

“That’s why we are taking immediate action to boost the number of donors,” she said.

Other measures supported by the government include boosting community awareness in areas with low donor rates; providing schools with resources to discuss organ donation with their (soon-to-be-drivers) students.

Organ donation saves lives. Picture: iStock

By mid-2026, applicants for several Service Victoria cards — including a digital driver’s licence — will also be directed, if they wish, to the register.

The government said it would await the outcomes of a national review before taking a stance on some issues raised by the committee, including the possibility of changing legislation to allow consenting, adult transplant recipients and donor families to meet.

The government will also consider changes to allow death certificates to, with permission from next of kin, indicate the person donated their organs.

Ms Thomas said Victoria had been a “leader” in organ donation.

“This work will help us maintain that legacy and make a real difference to so many,” she said.

Originally published as Organ donor changes coming to Victoria’s drivers’ licence system