Aussies unknowingly driving on suspended licences due to major 'botching'
In WA, the state's transport department is still processing some 73,000 traffic infringements, eight months after being handed the responsibility from the police.
Thousands of Aussies who may have lost their licences are still driving due to a massive backlog of unprocessed traffic infringements.
It's understood Western Australia's Department of Transport (DoT) is battling to sort through a whopping 73,000 notices, meaning some drivers may be blithely unaware they’ve accumulated enough penalties to be banned from the road.
The problem has emerged due to the responsibility for processing traffic infringements having recently moved from the WA Police Force to the DoT, which was intended to "provide a much better experience" for drivers in the state.
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It's now been eight months since that handover, with the WA opposition branding the saga "a complete botching of the process".
"To have a backlog of over 70,000 infringements in the system is not indicative of teething problems," Shadow Transport Spokesman Tjorn Sibma told the ABC.
"The consequence of this botching of the rollout means there are people in WA who are driving today who should not be driving because they've accumulated that number of demerit points which necessitates their licence be cancelled."
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Sibma questioned how the DoT would manage with the workload once the grace period for traffic cameras using AI to detect mobile phone usage ends in April — meaning even more fines would be issued.
He said the government "had an enormous lead time to do it" and though "they're aware of problems" in other jurisdictions, "are still running into [issues]".
Transport department weighs in
For its part, the DoT said the processing delays were temporary, with the situation expected to improve within weeks.
"Once complete, this transition will provide better, more convenient and more flexible payment options for people paying infringements," a statement given to the ABC read.
"The oldest infringement awaiting processing is dated 6 December 2024, and this processing time is similar to that of the previous infringement processing system.
"Infringements continue to be processed every day, and new infringements are added to the system each day. Infringements for significant antisocial road safety behaviour, such as hoon offences, are prioritised for action and are not part of the infringements waiting to be processed."
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