Moving through life without either passport or driver’s licence is a periodic hassle. I’ve been severely disabled my whole adult life and unable to drive or travel so I have had neither. As a Victorian I’ve had a KeyPass as described above but those are rarely accepted as easily as passport/licence in most places the other two are wanted because people aren’t used to them, in the end I let it lapse
Most places which want high quality ID - for example for opening a new bank account - will be set up to easily do this online with your passport/licence numbers and you can get set up in 5 minutes. But if your 100 points of ID is anything else, you have to download PDFs, get certified copies, mail them to the bank (I am bedridden so I can’t visit in person either), and all sorts of other shenanigans. This repeats over and over for anything that wants ID. It’s tedious but predictably so.
The only saving grace is that such occasions don’t happen very often!
A shame we do not have an authority that covers ALL of Australia, rather than many states that have their own petty rules & lack of rules & conformity. We could call it an Australian Federal Government! [Oh, we do have one, but they don’t cover this problem unless you buy an expensive passport]. Ask our Federal members to solve this problem.
Despite what we might think, a combination of a Medicare number and Drivers License photo ID (includes name, dob, address and signature) currently deliver a similar outcome.
It’s evident from the actions by some States a suitable ID card equivalent to a DL can be provided. Is the first need one of ensuring this solution is universally available? Is the next to ensure all Govts and systems accept where appropriate this form of ID.
Would a new form of ID card issued Federally also need to address access issues? Ones that are likely greater than those at State level for a DL.
Would introducing a whole new ID to existing systems face the same issues previously noted that the ID card is not universally recognised?
I made a suggestion to my state MP to upgrade the Proof of Age card to the equivalent of a driver license for ID verification. Driver license systems can already do everything and would just need comparatively minor development to differentiate a driver license from a ‘resident ID’.
With that in place an online verification would work with either the DL or RID, both equally verified. Perhaps everyone reading this topic could make a similar suggestion to their state MP? It might not be the ideal solution, but it seems to be a practical and possible solution - excepting for governmental NIH or NMP issues. And push back from the driver license systems who would have to do the work.
For clarity, the user needing to verify could select the driver license option, and it would be verified. All unless the federal government realises something for the benefit of citizens has been enacted and pushes back. Not so improbable?
The Federal government is constrained by the constitution to some extent. It has a specified list of powers and (theoretically) cannot go beyond that list of powers - at least not without either the consent of the people or the consent of the states.
Hence, for example, the Federal government cannot simply take over licensing of drivers.
Conversely, the Federal government can guarantee to itself the issuing of passports.
This “problem” was built in at Federation, largely because the states did not trust a central government.
How you feel about any of the above probably depends on your personal political ideology.
It’s not that expensive. Is a passport, per annum, more expensive or less expensive than a drivers licence?
Accepting that as so, what does the constitution say about federal powers to issue an Australia wide ID card? Many years ago the Australia Card was proposed. I recall much opposition on various grounds but no legal challenge that it was unconstitutional. Do you know?
What problem? If the problem that the fed is not all powerful I concede that is so but does the constitution address issuing a national card, even indirectly, in some way?
It was PM Hawke’s Govt that raised the legislation, but the numbers were not sufficient in the Senate. A Double Dissolution followed and with the numbers to pass the legislation,
On 5 June 1987, Bob Hawke called a double dissolution after the rejection of the Australia Card Bill 1986. The government was returned at the election of 11 July 1987, but still without a Senate majority. The bill was reintroduced in September 1987, and a vote in the Senate was planned for 7 October. A retired public servant, Ewart Smith, pointed out that the Australia Card Bill was unworkable because the implementation date would have needed to be the subject of a regulation, which would have required the concurrence of the Senate alone, which was hostile to the legislation. Even if the bill had been passed by the parliament at a joint sitting, the Opposition could still have prevented it from being implemented as long as it held a majority in the Senate. In these circumstances, Hawke decided to abandon the bill.
Blame the states assuming the Senate was genuinely representing the interests of the states, and simply not partisan Federal politics. Whether the constitution provided for a further double dissolution if the Senate also later denied regulation of the implementation date, is hypothetical. The combined IQ of the political gene pool seemed to agree there was no further value in seeking a solution. The voters at that time had already decided the genes appropriate. It’s so long ago I can’t remember which portion of the gene pool I’m responsible for.
The universal acceptance of a passport, since it is missing a current address, might still present a problem. When using it for financial purposes I’ve been asked to produce my DL regardless. My bank uses my DL number and not my passport number for ID. Note passport numbers change with each issue!
Vic is $287.80. Some places see licenses as revenue streams and others as a service.
For comparative purposes a Texas USA DL is $USD25 for 6 years inclusive of an admin fee. The resident ID card is $USD16 for 6 years until aged 60, then drops to $USD6.
To be fair to me, I did put “problem” in quotes. My take on what the claimed problem is would be:
states that have their own petty rules & lack of rules & conformity
That’s what I was responding to.
There’s no way I can answer as to what was actually the case … however I would suggest that, for any purpose that the Feds have power over, they could manage identity if it were reasonably necessary for that purpose - and that they could unify that identity management over several valid purposes.
The quoted Wikipedia article makes the observation that tax, welfare and health were three such purposes considered relevant at the time (but obviously immigration and emigration, potentially aviation, maybe even census, a bit of abuse of telecommunications or banking, potentially corporations, potentially industrial relations).
The problem may be that there are too many ways in which the Feds could do this, not too few.
I am not a lawyer.
It would be very hard for a person to avoid all touchpoints with the Federal government.
I would just like to add to that … an Australian passport isn’t really a valid alternative to other photo id (such as a drivers licence) - because only citizens are entitled to a passport and there must be zillions of people in Australia who need to be identified but who are not citizens.
Australia Card. Ancient history. Anyone remember the Howard Government’s Access Card proposal that was killed off when Labor won in 2007?
The original poster’s complaint was that in NSW the official photo ID card is supposed to be just as good for the purpose of proof of identity for those who do not have a drivers licence or passport.
Clearly it is not as it is not recognised by NSW Gov own systems. Or anyone else.
Ironically today - I visited our local Services NSW to renew my disability parking permit and they accepted my photoID card (plus Medicare Card) as proof of identity!!
pH
My read of one of Services NSW web docs is their issued ID Card is acceptable over the counter where ever they will accept a DL. The issues are with using it for services on line. Although I could not find a list of the exceptions.
Our experience as older Aussies, the only consistency is inconsistency of requirements.
In same position here in WA. No drivers’ Licence, no passport [why spend the money?]
Not recognised in too many places - I keep losing the battle and use my husband’s drivers’ licence.
Why not a national ID card? We have to provide all the same information anyway.
Who do we approach to get this done? Local member?
Heather WA
Have no personal experience with this but a family members suggested this; though again you are specifically talking here about “Services NSW” acceptance, so no idea if it applies; is accepted…
“The new “DigitalID” app solves this. You verify your ID with Aus Post. Then it gives you 2 electronic app ID’s that replace your cards. Works for everything, nightclubs, packages everything. I don’t carry a wallet at all anymore.”
Try living in WA. My Mum has dementia, and absolutely no identification at all, lives in an aged care facility, wanted to take her out for a coffee but need Proof of Vaccination. I ended up at Centrelink, luckily we have EPA so managed to get a certificate for her. WA does not accept the Australia Post id that I already have which is really unfortunate.
My Dad is 95. He no longer drives and his passport is long expired. He is a WW2 veteran & so now has a Gold DVA card rather than a Medicare card. When I tried to register him online for eg the NSW vouchers (eg Dine & Discover), they would not accept the NSW Photo ID card he has. They also would not accept his 1926 Victorian birth certificate, because they only accept those from 1929! When I phoned Service NSW they acknowledged that their NSW Photo ID card could not be used online for NSW services - he would have to attend in person & show all the documents he had (pandemic risk or not). What is the point of having a NSW Photo ID card issued by the government that the NSW government services don’t recognise!
KerryF
