Former police officer and Australian Labor Party (ALP) election candidate Naomi Oakley has called for this Failure point system Should be revised because it is “too easy” for drivers to lose their driver’s license.
Ms Oakley, who was a police officer in Victoria for 12 years, is the ALP candidate for the Victorian seat of Casey, which covers an area north of Melbourne including the Yarra Ranges and stretches east towards Mansfield.
In a submission to an ALP committee, Ms Oakley called for changes to penalties, saying the existing circumstances were unfair to Victorian drivers and made it too easy for them to lose their licenses.
“The current penalty framework, coupled with the growing number of speed cameras in suburban and urban areas, puts disproportionate pressure on everyday drivers,” Ms Oakley’s statement said.
With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
“This is particularly evident in the context of the three-year window for accumulating demerit points, which leads to a higher number of license suspensions and, as a result, driving without a license.”
The Victorian State Government does not publish the number of drivers who have had their license suspended or revoked.
However, according to the federal government’s website roadsafety.gov.au, a total of 51,150 fines were issued across Australia in 2024 for driving without a license.
Of these, 7,090 were issued in Victoria, third behind Queensland (25,135) and New South Wales (9,355).
Victoria ranks fifth out of Australia’s eight states and territories in the number of disqualified driving fines per 10,000 license holders, with 13 – behind Queensland (60 per 10,000), South Australia (49), Northern Territory (26) and NSW (15).
To address the number of unlicensed drivers, Ms Oakley said demerit point resets should occur earlier.
“A two-year window is a more balanced response measure for minor or infrequent violations and avoids excessive penalties for otherwise responsible drivers,” Ms. Oakley’s statement said.
“Reducing the failure point window from three years to two years will maintain road safety while creating a fairer, more balanced system that supports both compliance and community well-being.”
The ALP candidate also pointed out that speed cameras and changes to speed limits were unfairly driving up the number of infringements.
“Following the coronavirus crisis, there has been a significant increase in speed cameras, including on built-up and suburban streets where speed has not been a major problem in the past,” the statement said.
“Urban speed zones have been reduced (e.g. from 40 km/h to 30 km/h), increasing the impact of minor violations.”
Of the 3.3 million speeding fines issued nationwide in 2024, approximately 2.8 million (83.6 percent) came from speed cameras.
Cell phone detection cameras were responsible for 87.6 percent of the 330,926 fines issued for telephone violations – with the number of fines more than tripling since 2019.
The same proportion of the 183,315 seat belt fines recorded in 2024 were enforced on camera, which is 3.5 times the total number of violations detected.
The Queensland state government recorded record revenue of almost $465 million from motorist fines in the 2023-2024 financial year, up from $171.2 million in 2019-2020 – although the number of fines fell over that period.
MORE: Australian authorities are considering reduced speed limits on country roads
MORE: Australia’s road tolls are rising despite record speeding revenues
