Australia urged to cut stored data duplication, stand up digital ID commish

Australia’s government could make it easier for businesses to retain less data, meeting a goal it has set for itself, by instead requiring them to use a reliable identity verification method like the Australian Government Digital Identity System (AGDIS), stakeholders say.

The Law Council of Australia makes this argument in a submission responding to the latest update on the Commonwealth Data Retention Review. The Discussion Paper for the Data Retention Review was published by the Department of Home Affairs and the Attorney-General’s Department in February.

The principle of minimizing data retention requirements, particularly for personal information, is one of four proposed in the Discussion Paper.

Draft Principle 1 states that agencies should consider the necessity of data retention and minimize requirements for it as much as possible.

The Council approves of the proposal in Draft Principle 2 for limited periods to be specified for data retention provisions, which are needed for alignment with the Australian Privacy Principles enacted a decade ago.

Similarly, the Governance Institute of Australia sees the Government Digital ID verification system launch without reduced retention requirements as duplicating data handling.

“Where businesses have viewed or verified customer information through third party ID providers, the requirement to store this information should be abolished,” the Institute recommends in its response.

The body also argues that Australia needs a dedicated digital ID regulator, which would take responsibility from the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

The preference for AGDIS is also shared by the Property Council of Australia, which notes that its members are preparing for compliance with anti money-laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) reforms that kick in on July 1, 2026.

The OAIC published a new regulatory strategy for digital ID just weeks ago, which notes that “organizations collecting this information are often just as uncomfortable about holding ID documents as most people are about sharing them.”

Article Topics

Australia  |  Australian Government Digital Identity System (AGDIS)  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  regulation