Thousands of Queensland motorists are being notified that their driver’s licences may be invalid due to a long-running technical glitch that bypassed mandatory medical certification requirements.

According to the Queensland government, the error affected around 17,000 drivers with declared health conditions, allowing them to renew their licences online without submitting up-to-date medical clearances. The problem is believed to have persisted since 2020, when online renewals were introduced as part of pandemic-era measures.

During the height of COVID-19 restrictions, the state government introduced a digital system to help people renew their licences without visiting service centres in person. The temporary change aimed to reduce in-person contact, especially for those with health vulnerabilities. However, the system failed to flag drivers whose renewals required medical checks, leaving some legally on the road without official confirmation they were fit to drive.

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Queensland’s Minister for Customer Services and Open Data, Steve Minnikin, said affected motorists will receive emails in the coming days advising them to provide updated medical certificates.

“The first of the emails will be going out today,” Minnikin said at a media conference. “We’ll make sure it’s as easy as possible for people to update their medical certificates. The key thing is that now we’ve discovered the error, we need to fix it quickly.”

Those contacted will have one month to provide the necessary documentation confirming they are medically fit to drive.

The revelation has reignited debate about driver fitness and medical oversight across Australia, amid increasing calls for more consistent testing for older and medically at-risk drivers.

Sydney congested traffic
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The issue comes after a 91-year-old driver in Melbourne lost control of her car and crashed into a playground, killing two people and injuring a young child. Following that incident, Victoria’s Roads Minister, Melissa Horne, ordered a review of licensing rules for elderly motorists.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast are studying how brain activity relates to driving ability, in hopes of helping doctors better assess a person’s cognitive fitness to drive.

“There’s a real need for reliable and standardised tools for health practitioners,” said Dr Kayla Stefanidis, a senior research fellow quoted by Yahoo News.

Authorities say the Queensland glitch will now be fully corrected, with systems reviewed to prevent similar lapses in the future.