New Zealand has cancelled 459 commercial truck licences belonging to Indian-origin drivers after an audit found fraudulent documents were used during the licence conversion process.
These drivers were told to surrender their licences after the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) discovered inconsistencies in the paperwork.
Official data confirmed that every cancelled licence belonged to a driver born in India. However, none of the licences were converted directly from India.
Most converted documents came from the United Arab Emirates (436 cases), however, 18 were from Australia and five from Canada. Only two of the affected drivers were women, and most were aged between 30 and 35.
NZTA says action needed to protect road safety
The agency said drivers had used “false or altered documentation” to show overseas driving experience. “We have systems in place to identify, investigate and respond to suspected fraudulent activity, and we will act swiftly when we find it by holding people to account,” NZTA deputy director of land transport Mike Hargreaves said in an official statement.
Providing false information in a licence application is against the law in New Zealand and can lead to fines of up to NZ$750.
“We can’t even pay rent”
Many drivers claim they did everything correctly and even passed theory and practical tests in New Zealand.
They say they relied on supporting letters from Dubai agencies that NZTA once accepted but now says are not valid.
“These are hardworking migrants who filled a vital gap in our transport workforce,” Indian-origin MP Parmjeet Parmar said in a letter to the transport minister.
She has asked the government to find a fair solution because many families are struggling.
At a protest held at the Takanini Gurdwara in Auckland, affected driver Amritpal Singh told to New Zealand Herald , “NZTA has taken away our family’s only source of income, how will I feed my kids now?”
Another driver, Parminder Singh, said to New Zealand Herald, “We can’t even pay rent. Our wives and children are being penalised for no fault of theirs.”
Transport operators say the cancellations are making it harder to find skilled drivers. Some companies have been advertising jobs for months with no applicants and say training new drivers takes time. New Zealand’s trucking industry has been facing a driver shortage for years, and Indian migrants now make up a significant part of the workforce.
Drivers from “exempt” countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and several European nations have a simpler process for converting their licence. Applicants from non-exempt countries like India must complete more steps, including a practical driving test. NZTA says it took action only after a detailed investigation and that maintaining safety on the roads remains its top priority.
