New South Wales government says Optus will reimburse drivers’ licences replacement fees

The new South Wales government says Optus will reimburse licence-replacement fees for customers who have been caught up in the company's massive data breach.

Optus will be responsible for the bill for customers to replace their New South Wales drivers' licences if they have been affected by the cyber attack, according to Minister for Digital Government Victor Dominello.

He said it was a $29 replacement fee, but it will be reimbursed by Optus.

Optus will communicate with their customers on how they'll go about that. The personal data of around 10 million current and former Optus customers was compromised last week when hackers launched one of the biggest cyber attacks in Australian history.

The attack resulted in the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and passport and licence numbers of millions of customers being leaked online.

A replacement licence in New South Wales can be obtained online and get a new card number, while a new plastic card will be sent out within 10 business days, according to Dominello.

He said that if someone has access to your driver's licence, they could open up various accounts in your name, they could re-direct mail in your name.

It's quite significant for those who have been impacted, and that's why we need to get on top of this ASAP. He has advised customers to wait for a response from Optus to find out if their personal data has been compromised.

He said that the best thing to do is to wait until you get confirmation from Optus, because they will tell you whether you need that credential re-issued.

The data breach highlighted the need for an overhaul of Australia's data and privacy laws, said Dominello.

He said that this was a huge wake-up call for the whole country.

I think that we overshare information in the 21st century — when I go to hire a car, why do they need to know my date of birth, my address, my wet signature?

When I hire a car, all they need to know is that I'm authorised to drive a car.