Optus customers struggle to change driver’s licences to avoid fraud

Optus customers have urged state governments to make it easier for them to change their driver’s licence number after being asked to prove they are victims of fraud before they can make the change.

Customers from NSW, Queensland and Victoria have told the Herald they have not been allowed to change their licence because it is only permitted after a fraud has been committed.

Hackers breached Optus’ systems in one of the largest cyberattacks in Australian history last week, accessing names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses and driver’s licence numbers of millions of the telecommunications giant’s customers.

Commercial lawyer Katrina Bills said she had tried to replace her licence to help prevent the risk of fraud and called on state governments to make it easier for Optus customers to make the change.

“Whilst I understand the public policy not to permit everyone to replace driver’s licences whenever they feel like it, where you are advised that your identity details have been stolen you should not have to wait until fraud has been committed to replace your ID documents,” she said.

A corporate lawyer in Sydney, who did not want her name published, told the Herald she went to a Service NSW centre on Saturday to change her driver’s licence number, which she provided to Optus, but the agency refused to accept the broadcast email sent by Optus as evidence.

After escalating the matter, she was told her formal application would be considered by Transport for NSW, but would probably be declined.

The Herald has contacted the NSW Department of Customer Service and Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello for comment.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday night, the minister said Optus would contact customers in coming days to confirm whether they would need to apply for a replacement driver’s licence.