Northern Territory brings Australia closer to nationwide mDL rollout

Australia’s mobile driver’s license (mDL) map continues to fill in, with the Northern Territory being the latest jurisdiction to commit to a digital driver’s license program.

The Northern Territory government says it will launch an optional mobile driver’s license before the end of the year. Built to international standards, it will allow residents to carry and present their license on a smartphone while continuing to use a physical card if they choose. Territorians will still be encouraged to carry a physical license when travelling interstate or overseas while cross-border recognition arrangements continue to develop. The digital credential will also work offline.

Legislation is in the works. The Motor Vehicles Amendment (Digital Licences) Bill 2026 will “establish the legal framework for eligible Territorians to carry and display a secure digital version of their driver license on their smartphone.” The program is opt-in, and does not replace physical licenses.

Offline functionality for mDLs is a particular advantage in the sparsely populated Territory, which is largely rural and remote.

Minister for Logistics and Infrastructure Bill Yan calls it “a practical reform that cuts red tape and makes an everyday government service easier to use, while ensuring Territorians remain in control of how they access and share their information.”

“And when renewing your licene or updating your details, digital licence information can be updated without needing to wait for a new card in the post.”

Australian Capital Territory accused of dithering

In launching a digital driver’s licence program, the Northern Territory joins New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia on the list of states with live mDL programs.

That leaves just Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Tasmania as the final jurisdictions in Australia without a fully live mDL system. Western Australia has announced a plan to go live in 2027. A recent budget for Tasmania earmarked funding to develop a business case for mDLs, but it does not yet offer a standalone digital driver’s licence.

The ACT has taken a deliberately cautious approach, stating its intent to let other states and territories settle on common standards before implementing its own program.

However, a recent report from Yahoo News Australia says government documents acquired through a freedom-of-information request show that Service NSW was in discussions about sharing its mDL tech with ACT officials as early as 2019. It quotes Liberal MP Peter Cain, who filed the FOI request, and says “NSW had already built the technology for a digital driver’s licence and was offering to share it at minimum cost. Instead of delivering, the ACT Labor government spent seven years holding meetings and writing business cases.”

The revelation has put new pressure on the region to get its act together and catch up with other jurisdictions.

Australia setting global model for mDL adoption

Australia is emerging as one of the world’s most comprehensive mobile driver’s licence deployments, with jurisdictions converging on ISO/IEC standards for interoperability.

Major global biometrics providers have been instrumental in powering the rollout to date. Thales supports Queensland’s mDL; live since 2023, it is the first mDL in Australia aligned with the ISO/IEC 18013-5 standard, and has been held up as a “global blueprint” for mDL.

While NSW and South Australia launched their mobile licenses before the final publication of the  ISO standard, Austroads is working toward nationwide harmonization through an ISO-based Digital Trust Service, which will transition and align all mDLs with ISO/IEC 18013 and ISO/IEC 23220.

Article Topics

Australia  |  Austroads  |  digital ID  |  ISO 18013-5  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  Northern Territory