Australia files tender for national face biometrics, document verification services

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has published a tender for ID document verification and face biometrics matching as components of its identity-matching services (IDMS)

The three components Home Affairs is contracting together are the document verification service (DVS), the face-matching services hub (FMS), and the national driver license facial recognition solution (NDLFRS). The IDMS is operated by Home Affairs for use by federal, state and territory government agencies in fraud prevention and law enforcement applications.

The FMS hub is a broker platform for providing requested biometric or biographic data to complete an identification or verification process with an agency. The FMS includes both one-to-one facial verification, as well as one-to-many facial recognition checks by law enforcement.

The biometric technology provider selected will be expected to build and deploy separate FMS and DVS hubs, but possibly consolidate them into a unified platform in the future.

The NDLFRS is the country’s somewhat controversial identity verification system based on a national face biometrics database. The NDLFRS provider will be required to host the solution to the “protected level” of security.

The department is planning to transition the NDLFRS from the unidentified incumbent biometric technology provider to a new supplier without taking the service offline. The plan also involves developing a central routing application to secure and facilitate the exchange of biometrics and other data between IDMS participants.

The tender document calls for submissions to include common data formats and standards, along with protocols for exchanging biometric and biographic data.

Home Affairs believes the new contract will result in cost savings through reduced infrastructure, iTnews reports.

Bids are due by March 11, 2022.

Australia’s federal and state governments are also working towards establishing age verification and digital identity wallets.

Article Topics

Australia  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  document verification  |  face biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  law enforcement  |  tender