Call to roll-out digital licensing as BDR delays continue

The NT government is under pressure to introduce digital driver’s licences to complement the Banned Drinker Register. Read why we need them.

The Territory government has no plans to roll-out digital drivers’ licenses until other Australian jurisdictions do the heavy-lifting first.

But a hospitality advocate said the NT’s Banned Drinker Register would make it the perfect place to bring in the technology.

The Territory has been quiet about digital licensing as other jurisdictions look to bring in electronic licensing as soon as this year.

Queensland’s Labor government is trialling the concept in Townsville and has committed to the statewide rollout by the end of this year and Victoria is also trialling digital licenses in Ballarat for a 2024 rollout.

A digital license trial will be rolled out in Townsville, but not the Territory. Picture: Supplied.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is right behind the digital rollout, Tweeting in May that digital licensing was on its way and urging full license holders to get on board.

South Australia was the first Australian state to introduce the new technology in late 2017, followed by NSW with the Berejiklian government implementing the system in late 2019.

Only Western Australia, Tasmania and the Territory are not trialling the technology.

Every months, hundreds of thousands of takeaway alcohol purchases are made through the Banned Drinker Register.

In June 2023 there were 496,926 BDR-related point of sale transactions through online and takeaway outlets. Of those, 287 takeaway alcohol purchase attempts were denied.

Since being reinstated in 2017, 33,794 takeaway alcohol “transactions” have been declined because the buyer was on the BDR.

About 3000 Territorians are on the register.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce supports digital licensing. Picture: Che Chorley

Hospitality NT is leading the call for digital licensing, arguing electronic licenses would complement the Banned Drinker Register, which requires proof of a purchaser’s identification before the sale of takeaway alcohol.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said the dependency on a driver’s license to purchase takeaway alcohol in the NT should have made digital licensing a Territory government priority.

“When it comes to outlining a track for when Territorians get the same access to Digital IDs as Southerners we are stuck in the barriers,” he said.

“More and more domestic tourists are coming up just with their phones and smart watches and leaving their important hard copy documents at home.

Minister Eva Lawler supports digital licensing but there appears not to be a timetable. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“This means our bottleshop staff have to manually enter all their details for BDR scanning purposes.

“Think of the safety Territorians could have when out and about only carrying their smart devices.

“Our industry needs to be at the table as Digital IDs are rolled out for Territorians.”

Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler said the government supported digital licensing and had begun initial planning for development of digital licensing.

“The NT government supports developing a national framework for digital driver's licences and has commenced initial planning for development of a digital licence for Territorians,” she said.

“The NTG will align to the international standard for mobile drivers licence to ensure interoperability between jurisdictions.

“Lessons learned from other state trials, particularly the application of standards, will be applied to the design of a digital licence and supporting ICT infrastructure suitable for our citizens here in the Northern Territory.

“It is important to note digital licences will be in addition to a physical licence, meaning Territorians will be able to maintain their physical licence.”

A question for the minister around the timing of a potential digital licensing roll-out remained unanswered.