Australia’s Age Assurance Technology Trial is halfway done

The Age Assurance Technology Trial is about halfway through its vendor interviews – according to an email update, “the critical element of the trial’s process” that applies to every participant.

Out of the 48 providers participating in the trial, 25 have completed their interview. A further 20 have been scheduled. Three have not yet submitted practice statements on which the trial’s reviews of the described age assurance technology are based.

Vendor interviews involve “responding to questions across the full range of the trial’s testing scope, which has its foundation in relevant international standards.”

The trial is still waiting on several firms to sign and submit their Participation Agreement, and says participants who have not done so by 26 May will be removed from the trial, unless other arrangements are made through Project Director Tony Allen of the Age Check Certification Scheme, which is overseeing the trial.

For vendors whose products meet a threshold of technical readiness, the trial will undertake “some degree of practical technical testing” – and has added mystery shoppers to its testing crew of KJR Labs and select classrooms across Australia.

“Brisbane based Scout Insights are recruiting a nationally representative sample of users to test a number of age assurance methods, including both adults, children and young people,” the update says. “These tests provide a real-world environment, where users will have a variety of equipment, light conditions and access to required resources, be that an ID document or a bank account. We are therefore particularly looking to learn about the usability of different methods, from a cross-generational sample.”

School testing, framed as an educational experience, is limited to facial age estimation and pays “careful attention” to obtaining informed consent from parents and students alike.

The trial had set a deadline of the end of June to deliver a final report. However, that may have shifted; a notice in the email update says “we expect to host another event when the report is published in the winter.”

Summer of Age Assurance Legislation could be so hot it needs an age gate

The summer of 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment in age assurance, as the trial moves toward completion and the publication of its results. A final report to the Australian government will be delivered in June, with publication following Australia’s winter recess in Parliament, likely in late August. Across the pond, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to make its decision on Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the Texas case that will determine the constitutionality of mandating biometric age assurance technologies for porn and social media sites. The European Commission is accepting public feedback on its draft guidelines for the protection of minors under the Digital Services Act, and is aiming to publish the final guidelines this summer.

Article Topics

Age Assurance Technology Trial  |  Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS)  |  age verification  |  Australia age verification  |  biometrics  |  face biometrics