How do I replace a lost driver licence in Australia?

Licensing is a state and territory matter, so there is no national replacement service — you go back to the authority that issued the card. In seven of the eight jurisdictions the transaction is online and takes minutes. Tasmania is the exception: Transport Services says you must attend Service Tasmania in person with full evidence of identity, including a document carrying your signature, and complete an application form. If you are outside Tasmania there is an out-of-state form, usable once only.

The part that matters on the day is what you can legally drive on while the card is in the post. Service NSW issues a digital driver licence through the Service NSW app or a printable interim paper licence, with the card arriving within 15 business days. VicRoads points you at the digital driver licence in the myVicRoads app and posts the plastic within 10 working days. Queensland has the Queensland Digital Licence app and a 21-day card turnaround. South Australia lets you print a temporary licence on the spot.

The ACT and the Northern Territory rely on the receipt rather than a digital card. Access Canberra says all cards it issues are posted and cannot be collected from a service centre, that this can take up to 21 days, and that you use your receipt as proof of licence until then. The NT Motor Vehicle Registry is blunter still: the receipt is your authority to drive, and you must keep it with you at all times when driving until the card arrives at your recorded postal address. In both, keep the receipt on you rather than filed at home.

Online replacement has eligibility gates that catch people out, and they differ. Service NSW blocks the online route if you changed your address in the last 14 days, already ordered a replacement online within the last 12 months, want a NSW Photo Card at the same time, or your licence is suspended, cancelled, disqualified or expired. Western Australia's Department of Transport applies a similar 12-month rule plus a 7-day address rule, and requires a service centre visit for a name change or a new photo.

Fees vary and several jurisdictions waive them. South Australia publishes a flat $22 replacement fee through mySAGOV. Queensland charges nothing where the licence was stolen, was lost or destroyed because of someone else's crime, or where the details were exposed in a data breach. Western Australia gives a free replacement to holders of a full concession on the renewal fee. Access Canberra warns that its replacement fees are non-refundable, so get the transaction right first time.

Report a stolen licence to police before you order the replacement — VicRoads says so directly, and Queensland's free-replacement concession for victims of crime assumes a report exists. Two authorities also explain what the replacement itself does. Service NSW says your licence number stays the same but your card number changes, and that this protects you from unauthorised Document Verification Service checks using the old card's information. VicRoads describes the same split, saying that holding both a licence number and a card number makes your identity harder to steal. Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory all separately name a data breach as a reason to replace a card.