3.1 Roles and responsibilities of driver licensing authorities
The responsibility for issuing, renewing, suspending, refusing or cancelling a person’s driver licence (including a conditional licence) lies ultimately with driver licensing authorities.
Licensing decisions are individualised and are based on a full consideration of relevant factors relating to the driver’s:
- health
- functional capacity (including their ability to compensate for any impairment)
- insight into their condition
- compliance with any prescribed treatment
- compliance with existing licence conditions
- driving history
- any other relevant information.
In making a licensing decision, the authority will seek input directly from the driver and/or from a health professional. The authority will also act on unsolicited reports from health professionals, the police or members of the public about a person’s fitness to drive.
Under national driving licensing arrangements current at the time of publication, the driver licensing authority issuing the driver licence and the driver’s residential address should be in the same jurisdiction.
Payment for health examinations or assessments related to fitness to drive is generally not the responsibility of driver licensing authorities.
Each state and territory has an appeal system for situations where drivers do not agree with a decision made about their driver licence. The driver licensing authority will inform drivers of the appeal process when informing them of the licensing decision.
Driver licensing authorities can provide health professionals with information about:
- licensing and administrative processes
- medical aspects (while not all driver licensing authorities have medical officers on staff, they are able to assist health professionals who require guidance with particular cases)
- practical driver assessments
- legal and ethical issues (the driver licensing authority can provide guidance about the legislative requirements for licensing and assessing fitness to drive. For general advice on legal or ethical issues, health professionals should contact their professional defence organisation).
Appendix 9 contains the contact details for driver licensing authorities around Australia.