Plans for digital birth certificates in Australia underway

Consultations have already begun for the introduction of digital birth certificates in Australia, with the State of New South Wales (NSW) fronting the campaign for the new digital ID which is being developed under a cross-jurisdictional consideration.

The Syndey Morning Herald reports that community consultations for the project are ongoing and a concept plan for the foundational digital ID is likely to be completed by the end of this year.

NSW’s Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello told the outlet his State was leading the shift because of its maturity in digital issues, and that the project had been triggered by the growing need for digital adoption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He said NSW had, as a result, also chosen to develop QR code check-ins and digital vouchers.

The digital certificates will be designed in the form of the digital driver’s licenses currently in use, and can be applied for retrospectively by anyone as well as by parents who can choice to either go for the digital form or the original paper copy, the report explained.

Dominello was also quoted as saying that although NSW was at the forefront of the digital ID project, other states were supportive of it, and he believes the issue must be given national attention.

Already, institutions such as schools, government agencies and sporting organizations are being consulted, NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman told The Herald, adding that there was the need to make the digital certificates a highly secure document that would provide protection against criminals and fraudsters.

Speakman said making the document available to less privileged and vulnerable persons should be one of the priorities for the team that would be working on it.

Australia’s digital transformation agenda is on the move, with Ministers of Data and Digital announcing recently announcing that they were working to ensure a national digital ID project for citizens becomes a reality.

Article Topics

Australia  |  birth registration  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  identity document  |  identity management  |  identity verification  |  national ID  |  New South Wales (NSW)