The digital licence initiative of the NSW Government will be underpinned by a blockchain technology, which was developed by an Australian firm.
The company revealed a new platform that it is calling TrustGrid. According to the report released, it is one of the key architectural components of the electronic vehicle licence, which is expected to be in place before the end of next year, 2019.
The blockchain technology was already used during the digital licence trial conducted in Dubbo earlier this year, wherein around 1400 motorists opted in for the digital driver’s licence.
Since the trial for the digital driver’s licence will be conducted in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in November 2018, the company is preparing for it as well.
More than 140,000 drivers from the Eastern Beaches region are entitled to use the opt-in digital licence for police checks as well as gaining entry to pubs and clubs in the trial area.
The TrustGrid platform is described as “a secure, decentralised and immutable ledger of transactions”. It will aid in putting a stop to sophisticated frauds that are able to create fake identities easily.
License details are only checked superficially and this can now be replaced with cryptographic mechanisms.
The blockchain platform is being pitched broadly at the public sector since the era of standing in line to file government paperwork is coming to an end.
These processes are prone to errors, time-consuming, expensive and impractical ways to offer services.
The digital driver’s licence is not a native blockchain application. The TrustGrid platform is one of a number of security technologies protecting the integrity of the system and the privacy of a customer’s identity.
After a successful three-month trial in Dubbo, the Sydney trial will assist the NSW Government in the development of digital driver licences for rollout across the state in 2019.
An opportunity to participate in a trial of digital driver licenses by November 2018 will soon be given to motorists living across Sydney’s Eastern Beaches region.
Motorists who are living in Bondi, Bondi Junction, Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee, Randwick and Waverley will be invited to participate.
In order for the motorists to access their digital driver licence, they must first install the trial app and register a MyServiceNSW account and add their existing NSW driver license details.
The app will allow participants to view, update, manage and renew their license digitally.
The participants will be able to use their digital driver licence in the Eastern Beaches region, but will still need to carry their physical licence during the trial.
The digital driver licence is the electronic version of the NSW Driver Licence available on the phone and designed to be convenient and make life easier.
