The sneaky tactic Aussies are using to avoid losing their driver’s licence after getting caught speeding
Australian drivers are reportedly exploiting a legal loophole that allows demerit points from speeding and other traffic offences to be transferred to another registered driver, letting the actual offender avoid losing their licence. The tactic relies on nomination forms designed for situations where someone other than the vehicle's registered owner was driving, but critics say it is increasingly being used deliberately to shift penalty points onto family members, friends or associates with a clean record or points to spare. Authorities have expressed concern that the practice undermines road safety enforcement by allowing repeat or serious offenders to keep driving without facing licence suspension.
The scheme typically involves the true offender asking someone else, often a relative with few or no demerit points, to accept responsibility for the infringement, effectively "banking" the penalty on a different licence. Because demerit point limits and thresholds vary by state, some drivers reportedly coordinate this deliberately to stay under suspension limits, raising questions about whether transport authorities need tighter verification processes to close the loophole.
- Some Australian drivers transfer demerit points to others to dodge suspension.
- Tactic exploits nomination forms meant for other drivers' offences.
- Authorities are concerned it undermines road safety enforcement.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Sympathisers argue that losing a licence can be devastating out of proportion to a minor speeding infringement, particularly for tradespeople, delivery and rideshare drivers, or those in regional areas with no public transport who depend on driving for their livelihood. They see the demerit system as rigid and unforgiving, treating a driver who occasionally exceeds the limit by a few kilometres the same as a genuinely reckless one, and view swapping points among family or friends as a pragmatic, low-harm workaround to an inflexible bureaucracy rather than an attempt to endanger anyone.
The case against
Critics counter that nominating someone else as the driver to avoid demerit points is a form of fraud, typically involving a false statutory declaration, and undermines the integrity of a system designed to identify and remove genuinely risky drivers from the road. They argue it is unfair to the majority who accept the consequences of their own driving, allows repeat or serious offenders to keep driving unchecked, and erodes public trust and road-safety data, arguing that if the penalties are seen as disproportionate the honest remedy is to lobby for legislative reform, not to game the system covertly.