PNG launches birth registration legislation in landmark for national ID project

Papua New Guinea is taking a concrete step in making sure every citizen is officially recognized and able to access essential services as it launches new legislation.

The Papua New Guinea government launched the Civil and Identity Registration Act (CIR Act 2024) in a ceremony in Port Moresby, after it was passed by parliament in December 2024, and which replaces the outdated Civil and Registry Act of 1963.

The CIR Act 2024 seeks to make registration services more accessible, efficient and secure with a particular focus on remote communities. In the ceremony, prime minister James Marape emphasized the importance of having accurate and comprehensive population data, with citizens’ possession of legal identity crucial to the government’s development agenda.

The new law establishes a framework to strengthen civil registration services across the country, as the leadership commits to ensure that all citizens have access to essential services through legal identity documents such as birth certificates and national identification cards.

“The act ensures that every child’s birth must be registered as a basic right – representing a commitment to building a Papua New Guinea where every citizen is visible, empowered and included in our national development,” said Salome Bogosia-Keari, Registrar General of the Papua New Guinea Civil and Identity Registry (PNGCIR).

The government has committed to the 50 by 50 target, which aims to ensure 50 percent of children have their births registered in the country’s fiftieth Jubilee year. UNICEF Papua New Guinea Chief of Protection Paula Vargas pointed out that the country has the lowest birth and death registration levels in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Only 13 percent of children are registered, and of those registered, approximately only seven percent have birth certificates,” Vargas said. “This significantly hinders children’s ability to access essential services and legal protections.”

Vargas detailed the efforts under way in implementing the act, including rolling out mobile birth registration kits for remote communities, training civil registry officers, strengthening birth registration services, and supporting the digitalization of birth certificates to improve accessibility and security.

PNG’s National Identification (NID) project subsumed

The country’s NID project has now been merged into the PNGCIR, registrar general Bogosia-Keari said.

The NID project had sought to collect biometric data but collection had stalled. Bogosia-Keari said the merge marked a milestone in the government’s efforts to consolidate all key civil registration and citizen identification under one central agency.

“With the NIG merger successfully completed, PNGCIR’s next phase is the expansion of civil registration coverage and digital identity access to all Papua New Guineans – from rural villages to urban centres,” she said, as reported by The National.

The PNGCIR aims to integrate the NID project for the opening of bank accounts, SIM card registration, passport and visa applications, driver’s license issuances, business registration verification, superannuation membership checks, police and public vetting, and more.

“The registry will be working in full partnership with provincial and district administrations to fast-track the nationwide NID registration drive,” she said. The NID will be “fully integrated” as the foundational identity layer for all licensing, verification and regulatory processes, she added.

The registrar general said engagement with ministries and regulatory bodies will include the Immigration and Citizenship Authority, Internal Revenue Commission, Road Traffic Authority, Bank of PNG, Department of Information and Communication Technology, telecommunications regulators, and Investment Promotion Authority.

PNG is committed to its national digital ID as it launched a “data integration exercise” for key partners, including the Civil Registry Office, banks, telcos and superannuation funds, in an announcement earlier this month.

Article Topics

birth registration  |  civil registration  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  legal identity  |  national ID  |  Papua New Guinea