Cross-department Digital ID pilot planned for New South Wales: The Ever Tightening Web

TOTT NEWS

Residents in New South Wales are in line for a whole-of-government Digital ID that will let them connect their biometric details for access to services.

Australians in the state of New South Wales will soon be able to verify their identity online from anywhere in the world to access government services, as part of an upcoming pilot.

The state has been moving ahead with mobile, digital ID. This new pilot project, part of New South Wales’ Service NSW app, includes face verification and biometric liveness testing.

“Photo verification will enable millions of customers to complete government transactions anywhere, anytime or authenticate themselves using a photo verification login,” Service NSW CEO Damon Rees said.

“This will provide customers with greater accessibility to government services, especially customers with a disability, time poor customers and those in rural or regional areas, who are unable to or experience difficulty attending Service NSW centres.”

The upcoming identity verification service comes months after NSW sought vendors to provide two new digital identity systems: One to deliver digital proof of identity and the other for digital identity sharing.    

The technology, which is expected to be embedded in the Service NSW app, will work by matching a photo a user takes of themselves with a reference photo, like a driver’s licence.

The photo verification software then reads the geometry of the user’s face to make a decision on whether the verification is successful.

Once the images are successfully matched, the selfie and any verification data would then be “instantly and safely destroyed”, according to the government.

The upcoming pilot identity verification service will also be available on an opt-in basis and users will need to provide ongoing consent, which means they will be able to opt out at any time.  

“The new digital services will be faster, more convenient, and less costly to use than paper or physical alternatives and will be less prone to forgery, misplacement, or theft than physical documents,” Dominello said at the time.

Tenders went out in November. It is not known when the pilot will begin.

Transitioning towards digital has been high on the state’s agenda, with the New South Wales government in November announcing it commenced work on a new whole-of-government approach towards digital identity.Advertisements

‘DIGITAL RESTART FUND’

The announcement follows the state government rolling out a service allowing drivers to register their vehicles digitally.

This new direction is aimed at giving customers the option to use digital credentials for various licences, certifications, qualifications, and eligibility documents.

And a year ago, New South Wales reported that it had issued 3 million mobile driving licenses. By July 2021, it was already revamping the license to integrate automated approvals and a payments engine.

The NSW Government has allocated $2.1 billion to invest in digital transformation projects through its Digital Restart Fund. The fund is administered by the Department of Customer Service. It targets ‘smart, simple technology solutions’ which create ‘efficiencies’ for customers and businesses across the state.

According to reporting by iTnews, the government eventually will use the biometric ID to gate services requiring proofing level three. Above that level people have to show up in person for access.

Officials have set goals to be accomplished by 2030.

The biometric dystopia cometh.

Nowhere to hide from the all seeing eye of Big Brother.