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An investigation by 9news.com.au has uncovered dozens of listings on Facebook’s Marketplace “selling” driver’s licence demerit points.
One Sydney-based seller contacted by 9news.com.au confirmed he was willing to take on demerit points at a cost of $140 per point.
Other listings on Facebook Marketplace spruik demerit point swaps from $50.
Bizarrely, some of the advertisements relating to demerit points also incorporate items commonly sold online, such as TVs or bikes, perhaps in a bid to get more views for their listings.
Meanwhile, desperate drivers looking to keep their licences are also taking to Facebook to try and find someone to offload their demerit points to.
“Anyone wanna take 10 demerit points for $$$$,” one Sydney man asked in a post on September 14.
A week later, the same man posted again, saying he had not yet managed to offload all of his demerit points.
“Hi guys, I still have another 2 demerit points for sale DM if interested,” he wrote in the follow-up post on September 24.
How does the demerit scam work?
When a vehicle is involved in a traffic offence, such as speeding or using a mobile phone while driving, its owner is sent a fine in the mail, along with a notification of how many demerit points will be added to their licence.
All holders of an ordinary Australian driving licence are able to accrue 13 demerit points before their licence is suspended.
There is a chance, however, that the person who owns the car was not the person driving it when the offence took place.
If this is the case, drivers are able to fill out an online form with the relevant state or territory revenue department, nominating the driver who was responsible for the driving offence and giving their details.
Drivers are also able to nominate themselves as the offender.
It is seemingly this loophole which is used in the black market exchanges.
‘More common than you think’
While it may seem easy enough, falsely offloading your demerit points or taking on someone else’s was a serious offence and could even land you in jail, lawyer Kent Park, from Sydney Criminal Lawyers, said.
Knowingly provided misleading information to a public authority, such as Revenue NSW, carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.
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Falsely nominating someone could also lead to a massive fine under the Road Transport Act, Park said.
“If it’s taken to court, the maximum fine can be $11,000,” he said.
Park said he had dealt with criminal cases where demerit points were illegally swapped in the past, however both parties were normally known to each other.
“I’ve seen partners taking points for the other person, but when they break up they dob the other person in,” Park said.
Park said he had also defended a client who was about to lose his licence because of demerit points. His employer offered to step in and take the points so he could keep working, but later dobbed him in when he got a new job.
“I think it’s a lot more common than people think,” he said.
However, there were many ways the deception could unravel, he said.
“I think it’s become more difficult to get away with it now, than say maybe 10 years ago, because of technology,” he said.
Speed and traffic light cameras usually took photos of the offence, Park said.
“Depending on what type of matter it is, for example, if it’s a speeding matter, you might find it difficult to see the gender of the person,” he said.
“But if it’s a mobile phone detection camera, the camera’s angled in a way that you can kind of see what the driver looks like, and that gets picked up a lot actually.”
Facebook removes some listings
After 9news.com.au contacted Meta, the owner of Facebook, several of the demerit point listings were removed, but many still remain.
“We removed these listings and one of the sellers for violating our policies,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“We strongly encourage people to report items that may breach our rules so we can review and take the appropriate action.
“Listings that promote cheating or deceitful practices are a clear violation of our commerce policies, and we take action if we detect or are made aware of anyone attempting to circumvent this policy.”
Revenue NSW declined to comment on the examples of demerit point listings highlighted to them by 9news.com.au, as did NSW Police.
Transport for NSW is yet to provide a response.
