Thursday, 15 August 2019

In reply to  Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (19 June 2019)

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Roads, Minister for Road Safety and the TAC, Minister for Fishing and Boating):

In 2015, VicRoads introduced an upgraded licence photo system across all of its Customer Service Centres (CSCs) and Service Provider Agencies across Victoria. The change introduced a significant increase in the integrity of VicRoads camera systems and proof of identify processes and provided increased functionality to meet future needs.

The technology replaced old technology in CSCs, including hand-held cameras. The new technology was introduced in all VicRoads CSCs and where feasible, based upon costs, travel distances and existing transaction volumes, and some agency locations.

Unfortunately, the Tatura agency site was not included due to low demand from consumers (approximately 30 photos per annum) and is bounded by several existing VicRoads CSCs and agencies offering the same service, within a small driving distance. These include Shepparton CSC within 20 mins, Kyabram agency 25 mins; Rochester agency 40 mins, Echuca CSC 50 mins and Benalla CSC one hour.

VicRoads has one of the largest government networks for counter service sites across Victoria. The majority of VicRoads rural CSCs are located approximately one-hour travel time apart or greater, with agency sites located between to reduce travel times to within one hour, where practical. Similar travel times between access points for VicRoads services exist in metropolitan locations.