The Australian state of New South Wales is preparing to launch mobile licenses starting in the middle of next year.
The news comes by way of an announcement from NSW Minister for Finance and Services Dominic Perrottet, who said that the first mobile licences would be for the Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA), Recreational Fishing Fee, and Responsible Conduct of Gambling (RCG) Competency cards. Another five kinds of mobile licenses are expected to be introduced at the start of 2017, and a Digital Driver License is planned for 2018.
Explaining the rationale behind the move to mobile, numerous government officials cited convenience and associated benefits to the various industries concerned. Summing it up, Minister Perrottet said, “In 2015 our citizens are mobile and digital and that’s where the government should be too.”
Similar measures are underway elsewhere. For example, Iowa’s Department of Transportation is already testing out mobile driver licenses, which feature biometric authentication via facial recognition technology, ensuring that licenses authentically represent their holders. NSW’s Minister Perrottet asserts that their driver licenses “will also have security safeguards built in, with authorities able to more easily verify the validity of these licences,” though further details are not available at this time.
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