Don't know where OP lives, but here in India, I lost my driver's license a long time ago and only "carry" a digital copy of it in an app called DigiLocker. Digilocker also contains registration documents of all vehicles I own, Income Tax (PAN) card, insurance policies, high school/university transcripts, etc.
My "cash" or card transactions has gone down manifold over the last couple of years. Everyone, including roadside vendors, accept mobile payments that's enabled using UPI (unified payments interface) that's tied to my bank account. There are dozens of apps and "wallets" that use it, including Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, etc.
My income tax records are all available online, and "filing" is a matter of importing this data using a tool that the income tax department makes available on their website, checking the pre-filled forms, and pushing the "submit" button -- signed using an Aadhaar number enabled OTP.
I was thinking the same. Except passport and credit cards I don't really need any other physical document. And most of this happened in India in the last decade quietly. Sure there are many concerns with Aadhar and some of the other things but it has reduced friction in so many of activities.
Sounds similar to how I do my tax on gov.au here. There are a lot of federal government services on there, most I have never used, and an OTP app. Income tax takes a few minutes. It knows about any contributions. If you have simple financials it is reasonably painless. If you have a lot of money and investments you are going to an accountant anyway.
Australia, although I think this would not be uncommon for most developed countries as it is a big cost saving for government. Licensing and registration are state responsibilities and each state has different systems.
Vehicle rego can be checked in the app so I can see my expiry and get notifications when renewal is due. We haven't had to attach any physical proof of vehicle registration since 2011.
The app can be used as proof of digital licences for boats, cars, trucks and for occupational licences (builders, tradies, security) since 2017. I can also view demerit points. Also does proof of age and more recently COVID checkins. The app was locally developed. I think most states here have similar systems https://my.sa.gov.au/
Here in NSW it is not quite so streamlined, Registration renewal requires a vehicle inspection by an accredited mechanic (and related paper work).
The inspection itself isn't anything complex I think they check brakes, headlights and such usually takes about 20 minutes I drop car off go and grab a coffee and it's ready when I get back.
Once the inspection is done everything else can be done online.
I don't mind the process so much (I only own 1 vehicle and live in city) but my parents for example live in a remote location (50 minute drive to get to mechanic) and have multiple cars, a boat trailer and a regular trailer which all have the same registration date so for my Dad it is pretty much an entire days adventure to get all the various inspections done.
NSW is kind of weird though. They have religious education in government schools which astonishes most Aussies.
Nearly everyone gets their car serviced regularly every 6 to 12 months and they risk being defected if driving with a fault. My guess is a comparison of road safety outcomes between states would show very little benefit as the other states haven't leapt in to follow the example.
I remember paying my SA car rego with laptop over Maccas wifi in Devonport after rolling off the ferry sometime in the naughties. We didn't do it with our phones because they were still potatoes.
Wish it was possible here in the US, but because every one of our 50 states handles ID in a different way, it'd be a logistical nightmare without federal involvement.
We have no national ID in Australia and the federal government has limited constitutional powers. We have tax file numbers and medicare numbers but they are only used for tax or medical payments and for nothing else.
Like the US it is a federal system and states have constitutional authority over road rules, registration and licensing and can do their own thing. Every state has its own websites and apps for these things. Half our states do not have digital licences yet but some of them will be ahead in other areas. I suspect if we had to wait for something national to happen the less progressive states would hold us all back.
Sounds suspiciously like the United Kingdom. I don't think a single government service remains that cannot be done online. Not only that, but they actively invest a vast amount of resources into convincing anyone who tries to use physical services (mail, phone) that they are making a huge mistake. Anyone unfortunate enough to have to phone up any government office must to spend at least 3 minutes hearing about how much easier it would be to just use the website.
As a UK national overseas I don't know pains of calling up anywhere, and for sure there will be pains for many in varied forms, but find gov.uk consistently excellent from personal affairs to running a business. While not applicable as gov.uk does everything I need, surely channels exist for those than cannot, or unable, to use it?
Example: setting up national insurance contributions from abroad. You can't do that online, and so being repeatedly told to use the website while on hold on HMRC's phone lines (if you're lucky enough that their voice recognition system didn't hang up on you) is adding insult to injury.
