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Posted: 2024-07-18 23:05:58

In short:

The NSW government will establish the Demerit Point Integrity Taskforce to investigate drivers exploiting the demerit system.

The taskforce will target those manipulating the scheme through various methods including selling points on Facebook.

What's next?

The taskforce will run for three months and then provide their findings to the government.

Motorists selling their demerit points online will be targeted by a new NSW government taskforce.

The Demerit Point Integrity Taskforce, led by NSW Police, Transport for NSW, and Revenue NSW, has been set up to investigate drivers exploiting the scheme.

The action follows a case of a French man who was found to have more than 200 demerit points applied to his licence.

NSW Roads Minister John Graham said the taskforce will look into any gaming of the legitimate process for nominating another driver to take demerit points for an offence.

On Friday, a Sydney-based search of Facebook Marketplace by the ABC found people offering to take demerit points in exchange for money.

"We'll look at the activity on certain social media platforms where it appears that demerit points are for sale," he said.

"There's tough penalties in place for people who falsely nominate a driver, or accept a point."

Licence holders falsely nominating for demerit points on behalf of someone else can be fined up to $11,000.

Drivers with over 100 demerit points

man in suit behind podium

Roads Minister John Graham said the taskforce would monitor social media to catch out those gaming the system.(Supplied)

The taskforce will also target the 0.005 per cent of licence holders in the state who have accrued 20 or more demerit points.

Mr Graham said while the taskforce was only looking at a "small number of drivers" it was "still not safe or fair".

He said the government had identified 44 people who had more than 100 points on their licence.

"This is not ordinary behaviour," he said.

"Most people here are following the rules is a very small number of people who aren't. And that's a dangerous thing to have on our roads.

"It's very important for the system to work and to give people those ordinary rights of appeal."

The taskforce will review current penalties, suspensions and further measures available to deter people from racking up a high number of demerit points.

The taskforce will run for three months and then provide its findings to the state government.

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