Western Australia will spend $28.2 million from its Digital Capability Fund on a mobile driver’s licence and state digital identity scheme delivered through the existing ServiceWA smartphone app, under a package included in the state’s 2026-27 Budget.
The Cook Labor Government allocation covers four pieces: the digital driver’s licence itself, a State Digital Identity layer for government services, an upgrade to the WA Relationship Authorisation Manager that businesses use to transact with the state, and the supporting infrastructure. Digital driver’s licences are expected to go live in 2027.
The credential is designed with selective disclosure, so a user can share only the attributes a given transaction requires, such as proof of age or licence status, without handing over the full driver’s licence. It will live in the ServiceWA app, which the state has already established as the primary mobile channel for government services. Officials said the model will cut paperwork, speed up issuance and replacement, allow near real-time verification, and reduce trips to physical service centres.
“These changes are designed around how people live and work today,” said Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson. “Having key credentials available digitally means less paperwork, fewer delays, and greater convenience.” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti added that “most Western Australians carry their phone every day, so we’re making it easier to carry your driver’s licence with you too.”
The WA investment slots into a national framework already in motion. Australia’s Digital ID Act 2024 established the interoperable identity framework across federal and state tiers, and Australia’s national myID rebrand and biometric framework expansion in November 2024 set tiered identity levels that state schemes are now expected to plug into.
Western Australia has fed into national identity infrastructure before. A 2020 state law allowed WA to contribute driver’s licence photos to the national facial recognition database. The new package now extends that participation into a mobile-first, privacy-preserving credential aligned with global mobile ID standards.
Sources: Mirage News, ServiceWA
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By the Mobile ID World Editorial Team
