The Tasmanian Liberal Government has worked yesterday and overnight to deliver a solution for those Drivers Licence holders affected by the Optus data hack.
We are pleased to announce, that from noon today, the ordinary fee of $11.49 will be waived for those Tasmanian motor vehicle licence holders who can demonstrate that they have had both the licence number and the card number disclosed been impacted by the Optus data breach.
The replacement process also applies to those customers who have had their Personal Information Card (PIC) compromised.
The Tasmanian Government is monitoring the cyber-attack impacting telecommunications provider Optus very closely and taking appropriate action.
The Tasmanian Government Cyber Security team are working with Optus, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and other jurisdictions, to understand the full impact of the hack on Tasmanians.
We understand the information that may have been compromised includes customer names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and, for a subset of customers, addresses, ID document numbers such as driver licence or passport numbers.
Those impacted by the Optus data breach can visit any Service Tasmania Shop to arrange a new licence number and a replacement licence card.
A new licence number will then be allocated and the client will receive a new licence card in the mail. The cancelled licence number will then no longer validate through the national Document Verification Service.
To receive a new licence number, Service Tasmania customers will be required to present evidence from Optus that they have been impacted by the data breach or sign a statutory declaration to state that their personal information was breached by the Optus data leak.
The Department of State Growth will contact customers who have already visited Service Tasmania for a replacement licence to offer reimbursement of the cost.
The Tasmanian Government is always actively monitoring and managing cyber security issues and in the 2020-21 budget, an additional $4.9 million over four years was allocated for the Whole of Government Cyber Security Program.
This increased funding demonstrates our commitment to cyber security and ensuring the resilience of government services in the face of increasing cyber threats.
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