NSW law allows authorities to identify stolen ID credentials in real time

Police and accredited agencies in New South Wales could soon have the ability to flag identity theft and reset stolen identity credentials in real time. A media release from the government of NSW says its newly introduced Identity Protection and Recovery Bill will benefit those who have had their documents breached or stolen and are at risk of identity theft and ID fraud.

The Bill also enshrines in law NSW’s identity crime support service, ID Support NSW, and bestows new powers on the organization, which has operated under a privacy code since its inception in 2021.

The legislation would see ID Support operate as the “core government provider of identity protection and recovery services, including setting up a secure Compromised Credential Register to provide a fraud check service for IDs such as NSW driver licences and photo cards.”

The service will enable authorized fraud check users such as government agencies, banks and credit card providers to confirm if identity documents have been compromised, and to notify those whose identity details are being exploited.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib says alerting people quickly and supporting them to replace compromised ID documents will better protect them from scams and fraud.

“The new Compromised Credential Register will enable these early notifications to both individuals and agencies, and will send up a red flag when someone tries to use an ID document that has been stolen or compromised. The bill also ensures ID Support can provide ongoing support, advice and education to NSW communities to help build cyber security awareness and resilience.”

Major data breaches in Australia spur action on ID fraud

New South Wales is in the midst of a wider push to fortify state-issued credentials against what a piece in The Mandarin calls “industrialized looting by criminal and hostile state interests who have been systematically harvesting vulnerable customer information databases to purloin details on the dark web.” It notes the rash of personal data breaches that have plagued Australians, and points out that “one of the reasons Australian corporate customer registries became so attractive was that they routinely collected and stored troves of sensitive personal identity and credential information.”

“Since its inception, ID Support has facilitated nearly 200,000 notifications to affected individuals and has handled approximately 50,000 calls with individuals impacted by data breaches or identity misuse,” Dib told Parliament this week. “In 2023-2024 alone, ID Support assisted more than 40,000 customers impacted by identity misuse and data compromises.”

Article Topics

Australia  |  driver's license  |  identity document  |  identity theft  |  New South Wales (NSW)  |  police