Drivers off the road after criminal record check bungle

A dozen taxi, rideshare and bus drivers have been taken off the road and more are under investigation after an IT bungle let them register for a licence without a criminal record check.

In March, the Sunday Herald Sun revealed almost 3000 drivers of commercial passenger vehicles may have been illegally on the road with a criminal record for years. Picture: AAP

A dozen drivers of taxis, buses and rideshare vehicles have been taken off the road in the wake of an IT bungle that allowed people to register for licences without criminal record checks.

More drivers are also under investigation as authorities move to clean up the error that began in July 2018.

In March, the Sunday Herald Sun revealed almost 3000 drivers of commercial passenger vehicles may have been illegally on the road with a criminal record for years.

More drivers are also under investigation.

The licensing system used to match applications with police data did not work for 2½ years, with an internal probe later revealing 2950 names that matched criminal records.

Victoria Police and Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria launched an urgent audit to check every name that was flagged.

Of those names, one driver has had their licence cancelled while 11 have had their registration suspended.

Another person is facing disciplinary action and 14 others are still being investigated.

All records were checked within four weeks and about 10 per cent were genuine matches with criminal records, ­although some included small offences such as speeding fines.

Other motorists flagged were ­already known to authorities or were being investigated.

CPVV is responsible for the licences of taxis, rideshare vehicles, bus drivers and for driving instructors.

Chief executive Aaron de Rozario said it did not appear any crimes had been committed by drivers who had been flagged for criminal records.

“Passenger and driver safety is our top priority which is why we worked closely with Victoria Police to ensure we completed the assessment of each record quickly and efficiently,” he said.

“The initial system error has been fixed and all accredited drivers and authorised driving instructors impacted by the issue are undergoing regular police checks.”

Transport Matters MP Rod Barton, who has worked in the hire car industry, said the sector had little confidence in the regulator.

“These results reinforce our view the minister should have frozen the expansion of the multi-purpose taxi program while we had these people out there,” he said.

“We didn’t know what the situation was until the review was completed.”

Opposition transport spokesman David Davis said the public was entitled to safety. “This is another Daniel ­Andrews stuff-up, with Victorians put at risk by Labor blunders,” he said.

[e-mail]