The Queensland Government has, as of April 1st 2019, rolled out design changes for individual QLD licence cards. These changes are geared towards improving the security features of the licence cards, with the Queensland Government partnering with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) for the production of the new cards that feature the updated card designs.
Here is a rundown of the changes that holders of either the Certificate II or Certificate III in Security Operations should be aware of.
Five QLD licence cards are being updated: the Photo Identification Card (formerly known as the Adult Proof of Age Card), the Marine Licence Indicator, the Driver Licence, Heavy Vehicle Driver Licence, and the Industry Authority. The Industry Authority includes the dangerous goods driver licence, driver authorisations, driver/rider trainers, pilot and escort vehicle drivers, traffic controllers, and tow truck drivers and assistants.
These changes aim to minimise the cases of identity fraud and theft that occur annually within the Queensland jurisdiction. In partnership with the TMR, the Queensland Government intends to further secure individual information without incurring significant costs at taxpayers’ expense.
The card design changes will be rolled out progressively, with the Photo Identification Card and Marine Licence Indicator cards being the first cards to have implemented changes, and the other cards updated along the way until the June 2019 target update deadline.
Except for interim documents, such as the Driver Licence Receipt, Marine Licence Indicator Receipt, and Interim Industry Authority, the new changes to the licence cards are relatively uniform, streamlining the overall look of the cards to be distinct and unique to the Queensland State.
One critical design change implements contactless card scanning. With the new design, the EMV chip is no longer exposed; the new licence cards need only be tapped on the scanners instead of being inserted, which minimises incidental scratching on the card surface. This new change also protects the EMV chip from being damaged.
Another change to the new licence cards is the readability of the provided information printed on the cards. The new designs have increased font sizes for better legibility. For example, the licence number printed on the front side of the card will be in a bigger font, and will also be bolded for easy differentiation. The card holder’s name printed at the top left side of the card front will also be moved slightly closer to the centre for better readability.
The new cards will also feature the inclusion of the Customer Reference Number or CRN label printed clearly on the front of the card. The card number, which was previously only found on the back of the card, will now be printed on both obverse and reverse sides of the card. These redesigned cards will also feature the new URL for the Queensland Government’s ‘change address’ page, for those who need to update their residence address.
Finally, the new cards have updated security overlay design features intended to minimise fraudulent activities where card production is concerned. Some examples of these designs are a holographic map of Australia that creates a 3D effect, ghost images of the card holder’s photo, and a holographic security foil.
For more information on these changes, details are available through the Queensland Government or TMR websites.