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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-03 Daily Xml
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OFFICE OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question relating to the policy of the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: South Australians are required to produce identification for a range of purposes often using the 100 points check process. A driver's licence is a key identification document. However, many South Australians are unable to obtain a driver's licence as a result of disability or other restrictions and are only able to obtain a proof of age card from the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. A number of members have received contact from a constituent expressing concern that proof of age cards are not given the same points value as a driver's licence for identification purposes by South Australian government departments, which would include the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs and its range of licensing services.

A failure to give equal value to proof of age cards not only puts those with a disability or impediment to obtaining a driver's licence to inconvenience but also puts their personal security at risk by their being required to carry additional identification documentation. My questions are:

1. Can the minister assure the council that OCBA policies do not discriminate against people with a disability and that they do or will give equal value to a proof of age card and a driver's licence for identification purposes?

2. Will the minister commit to ensuring that all South Australians have equal access to key identification documentation across the South Australian government?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:33): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, the work that the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs does is truly amazing. They have a huge workload with the number of people who come through in terms of licensing, registration, etc. They deal with tens of thousands of people every few months, when added together, and they have to process large amounts of information very quickly. That is sometimes very challenging.

In terms of drivers' licences, clearly we need to manage those matters very carefully. We need to ensure that people do not obtain a licence for fraudulent purposes and use it in criminal activity. So it is most important that we are very rigorous in making sure that the person we are about to give a licence to is, in fact, the person they are claiming to be and that they do, in fact, meet the appropriate standards and other eligibility criteria for receiving a licence. So there are a number of checks and balances that are required to ensure that that rigour is upheld. As I said, I commend officers for the extraordinary work that they do, which often goes unacknowledged and undervalued.

In relation to any procedures that the honourable member is suggesting may be discriminatory, that is not an issue that has been brought to my attention before that I am aware of or to the best of my knowledge. I am happy to look into that. If there are any procedures or processes that are discriminatory, I am happy to have them drawn to my attention and happy to review those and to look at ways that we can ensure that we uphold the integrity and rigour of the licensing process whilst making sure that we do not disadvantage any particular group of citizens, particularly those with disabilities.

It is clearly a tricky balancing process. We aim to streamline and make these processes as quick and as simple as possible, whilst maintaining the integrity and rigour of the process to ensure that fraudulent activities cannot take place. If the honourable member has any particular information in relation to any specific activities, I am happy for him to forward them to my office and I would undertake to review those processes to ensure they are of the highest integrity without being discriminatory.

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