10 December 2013

Getting ACT licence after moving here from NSW

| jellyware
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Hey guys

I have just moved here from NSW and am trying to get my ACT drivers licence. you have 3 months to transfer it after you move

I’m having trouble meeting the proof of residency requitements. you can read what they will accept here

I’m renting a room. I’m not on the lease. I don’t have any utility bills in my name (apart from my mobile phone bill). so the easiest way for me to meet the proof of residency is to submit my last tax notice of assessment.

I rang the ato and they sent me a “statement of account” which shows what my return was for last year. I can’t see the difference between this and the notice of assessment for proving where I live. they only send out the notice of assessment once a year and I usually get them delivered to my tax agent anyways

the girl at the registry office told me I should give her the following documentation and they would assess my application

my income tax statement of account

my nsw drivers licence

my medicare card

orginial birth certificate

my most recent mobile phone bills

my most recent bank statements

she also wanted my most recent work payslips but I didn’t have them available

they then said they would start accessing my application. but then they called me back and said I would ALSO need the following

a copy of my flatmates drivers licence

a copy of her drivers licence

a copy of the lease agreement (in her name)

an affidavit from her saying I live with her

what a strange orwellian fantasy world where the government collects so much information on you. they already have far too much personal information on me. I feel like my right to privacy has been violated here

how do I know they will process my application even if I get my flatmates details?

what is the limitation on how much personal information they can collect on you?

what do they do with my personal information? how can I be sure it won’t be misused

welcome to canberra!

peter

 

 

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Yet they give a man with no I.d calling himself captain Emad a house .
welcome to the ACT

There is reason behind the madness. Back when the Sydney Lebanese Auto Relocation Program was in full swing, we were an extremely convenient way of putting lost cars back on the street. A quick trip down the highway and a vehicle could be inspected and registered with ease and minimal questions. We were also a good source of demerit points. I’ve met more than a few professional drivers with different licences currently valid in different states.

It seems the proof of identity requirements changed in November 2013. When I transferred my drivers’ license to the ACT I supplied a letter from my Private Health Insurer that my insurer sent me when I changed my address with them. That is no longer an option on the fact sheet but it does seem analogous to the Home and Contents Insurance policy. Might be worth asking.

I suppose in hindsight you could have had your previous utility bill finalised and sent to your new address.

So much drama when changing your address within ACT just requires putting the new address into a website!

Holden Caulfield11:04 am 11 Dec 13

And the irony of all this, I had to change the address on my driver’s licence a month or two back and all I had to do was go into a shopfront and tell the nice lady my new address.

She even applied the sticker with the new address on the back of my licence for me.

No proof required, I could have put The Lodge if I wanted!

hmmm a pickle…yes, I have a similar thing but bank statements or other mail addressed to your residence should work (i know most people, including me, don’t get bank statements anymore but you can go into a branch and ask for one).

Won’t you need to register a vehicle at the ACT address as well?

the documents requested seem pretty normal for a piece of ID as important as a licence….i wouldn’t be concerned about the info/data (but then again i’m not a nutter who believes in the “gummit” invading my privacy)

all this said, the ACT rego people are pretty easy to deal with – they change things over quick smart and meet the timings on your existing interstate licence

I went into the ACT Gov shop front once to replace a licence after losing my wallet. Despite having the list of acceptable forms of identity in front of me (I took it from the rack next to the desk), I had to argue with the office manager for a few minutes before they accepted that my photo and signature in there computer system could be used to verify my identity….

I think anything outside their normal daily tasks gets an automatic “come back when you aren’t so difficult to deal with”.

This problem will only become more and more common in the future though. It is already pretty easy to not have a single fixed utility in your own name if you share a house (mobile phone, mobile Internet, etc), and who gets paper bank statements anyway?

Perhaps the states could actually develop a national licensing system…. Not holding breath….

Holden Caulfield1:08 am 11 Dec 13

jellyware said :

I was thinking of this today. I have a job and live in a house. how hard would it be if you didn’t have these….

Think laterally kids, a PO Box costs bugger all if you can already afford to keep a car on the road. I’ve been getting my ACT licence and rego renewals sent to my PO Box for over 20 years.

Holden Caulfield12:56 am 11 Dec 13

jellyware said :

so just after I posted this I got a friendly call from someone from the registry or the ministers office. I can’t remember. they mentioned they had read this post on riot act and we had the issue sorted very quickly

big thanks to whoever called me, I didn’t write down your name

and big thanks to riot act for helping to make my voice heard

Awesome!

First we had Twitter Cabinet and now we have Riot Cabinet.

BimboGeek said :

Bank statements have always worked for me. Does this mean that homeless people aren’t allowed a drivers license? Because I’ve known people who lived in their van for several months while they figured out what to do next. The office had a shower, a friend would offer the use of a laundry or laundromats are cheaper than renting an entire house and of course food is no challenge if you’re happy to eat simply or even use a park barbecue sometimes. But then they would be screwed if they needed to renew their license!!

I was thinking of this today. I have a job and live in a house. how hard would it be if you didn’t have these….

so just after I posted this I got a friendly call from someone from the registry or the ministers office. I can’t remember. they mentioned they had read this post on riot act and we had the issue sorted very quickly

big thanks to whoever called me, I didn’t write down your name

and big thanks to riot act for helping to make my voice heard

I had to renew my license AND change my address today (all within the ACT) and I didn’t need to provide anything! Just verbally gave the lady at the counter my new address while filling out the form and bam – new licence with my new address on it. No paperwork (apart from the renewal form), no questions, hassle free. I just wish every time I went to Canberra Connect it was that easy…

Wow and affidavit, that’s pretty extreme.
So considering they want an affidavit must mean that they want to use the document in court, seing though it is a document used for evidence in a court proceeding.

Surely they would just need a stat dec in this instance…..

Aeek said :

So why don’t they accept your NSW liscence as proof of identity?

Proof of Identity and Proof of Residency are two separate issues.
Your NSW Driver Licence proves WHO you are, it doesn’t prove where you live for the issue of an ACT Driver Licence.

So why don’t they accept your NSW liscence as proof of identity?

Antagonist said :

johnboy said :

It might have changed but twice in recent years I just went down to the dickson registry with my housemate and signed a bit of paper saying they lived at the stated address.

^^^ This. Statutory Declaration. Simple.

They REALLY don’t like to let people do these though anymore. I went to get a proof of age card from Canberra Connect while I was in a similar situation as the OP. I literally had nothing on the approved list of proof-of-residency documents so after about 45 minutes of explaining it to the CC staff they very reluctantly let me sign a stat dec. The irony is that after all that they didn’t even write down my address properly, they had me listed as living somewhere in Watson instead of Tuggeranong.

Rollersk8r said :

Other than that I completely agree with you – the motor registry are indeed total bastards. I have fought with them before and will no doubt fight with them again because their only joy comes from making people wait an hour and a half, then inventing a reason for them to come back again tomorrow.

TBH, I have been to the motor registry approximately once. It was to transfer both the rego on a vehicle and my license.

I didn’t have to wait more than maybe 10 minutes on either – despite being told one of my tyres was unroadworthy. They told me if I was be able to make it back within 3-4 hours, I wouldn’t need a new appointment. Later that day (after a trip to the tyre shop), I was seen and a few minutes later inside to finish the paperwork for new plates and license..

Antagonist said :

johnboy said :

It might have changed but twice in recent years I just went down to the dickson registry with my housemate and signed a bit of paper saying they lived at the stated address.

^^^ This. Statutory Declaration. Simple.

You’d think so, but my stepdaughter recently moved to the ACT and was unable to get her Learner’s Permit with statutory declaration from her mother (who was with her) as proof of address. Fortunately she (my stepdaughter) had just submitted a tax return with her ACT address on it and was able to use that, otherwise I have no idea how she would have been able to prove her residency.

She was told that they’re “cracking down” on proof of address because people from NSW have been fraudulently obtaining ACT licences. I don’t think they’ve really thought it through, as there’s a significant percentage of the population who simply won’t have the ability to provide the proof that they need.

johnboy said :

It might have changed but twice in recent years I just went down to the dickson registry with my housemate and signed a bit of paper saying they lived at the stated address.

^^^ This. Statutory Declaration. Simple.

tactless said :

So the point is, this is not just a ‘Driver Licence’ but a piece of primary ID. You rock up to Canberra Connect/RTA with no evidence supporting where you live, yet you expect to be issued primary ID with some address that you have nominated with no supporting docs?
I would also suggest that they can ask you for as much information as they deem necessary to ensure that they are issuing this piece of primary ID correctly, I would also hope that you could see why.

I think you’ll find that a drivers licence is secondary ID.

Primary ID is a passport, full birth certificate, or other evidence of citizenship.

Holden Caulfield11:40 am 10 Dec 13

farout said :

BimboGeek said :

Does this mean that homeless people aren’t allowed a drivers license? Because I’ve known people who lived in their van for several months while they figured out what to do next.

And just how will they get their speeding tickets or rego renewal notice if they have no address?

All you have to do is be homeless! I’m sure you’ll agree that’s a small price to pay for speeding indemnity.

Holden Caulfield11:38 am 10 Dec 13

And to think, back in the day, all one had to do was go into your bank tell them you’ve moved to the ACT, pluck any old address out of the air, and ask could you please send me a new bank statement in the mail. Then take that statement into the ACT shopfront and say can I please transfer my NSW licence to an ACT licence, here’s my address.

Apparently, it was all the rage when the ACT didn’t have demerit points, so I’ve been told.

Even better, I’m led to believe, the bank didn’t even charge for sending the statement!

BimboGeek said :

Does this mean that homeless people aren’t allowed a drivers license? Because I’ve known people who lived in their van for several months while they figured out what to do next.

And just how will they get their speeding tickets or rego renewal notice if they have no address?

It’s really not that big of a deal.

For a start the 3 months to change you licence over is just a guide – it is not enforced by anyone. Unless you have a specific need I’d keep my NSW licence (and car rego) for as long as possible – it’s cheaper! And if you happen to be pulled over 12 months down the track you just say you didn’t get around to changing it over because you didn’t have a permanent address. All sorts of people spend the majority of the year in Canberra without changing their licences.

You have as long as you want to get a few bills sent to your current address – and hey presto you’ll have enough ID.

Other than that I completely agree with you – the motor registry are indeed total bastards. I have fought with them before and will no doubt fight with them again because their only joy comes from making people wait an hour and a half, then inventing a reason for them to come back again tomorrow.

BimboGeek said :

But then they would be screwed if they needed to renew their license!!

Interestingly, you only need to prove residence once and that is upon first time issue of the Driver Licence. You can change addresses within the ACT as often as you like once you have your licence and all it takes is a phone call or even a simple internet transaction to change your address.

Bank statements have always worked for me. Does this mean that homeless people aren’t allowed a drivers license? Because I’ve known people who lived in their van for several months while they figured out what to do next. The office had a shower, a friend would offer the use of a laundry or laundromats are cheaper than renting an entire house and of course food is no challenge if you’re happy to eat simply or even use a park barbecue sometimes. But then they would be screwed if they needed to renew their license!!

So the point is, this is not just a ‘Driver Licence’ but a piece of primary ID. You rock up to Canberra Connect/RTA with no evidence supporting where you live, yet you expect to be issued primary ID with some address that you have nominated with no supporting docs?
I would also suggest that they can ask you for as much information as they deem necessary to ensure that they are issuing this piece of primary ID correctly, I would also hope that you could see why.

It might have changed but twice in recent years I just went down to the dickson registry with my housemate and signed a bit of paper saying they lived at the stated address.

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