EY misses deadlines on Australia national digital ID schedule

Consulting group EY is engaged in negotiations as it failed to meet its obligations under a AU$14 million (US$9 million) deal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) originally engaged EY in March last year to build the core registers and portals for the Australian Government Digital Identity System (AGDIS), the platform designed to curb the sharing of personal data and enhance public services.

Despite extending the contract by more than six months at a further cost of AU$3.4 million ($2.2 million), EY did not deliver all five of the required solutions by the end of last year as originally contracted, reports InnovationAus.

According to the ACCC, only two registers for accredited entities are complete, a staff portal remains only partially delivered, and both the Participant Portal and the Digital ID Management API are still under development.

The delay threatens to push back the wider rollout of AGDIS, in a further blow to the country’s ambitions for a digital ID system, which has thus far cost more than AU$1 billion ($646.7 million) and a decade of work. Under its phased deployment plan, the private sector was due to join the scheme in 2026, but that timeline may slip.

The Australian regulator has opened negotiations for an additional deal with EY to complete the RegTech job. An ACCC spokesperson confirmed that commercial discussions with EY are ongoing but declined to provide further details.

In 2023, the ACCC issued a limited tender to build the platform that will house its national digital ID system, inviting only five to ten vendors to submit. The regulator refused to share if any local suppliers were among those invited or how much the project would cost, raising concerns over competition for the contract.

EY won the AU$10.7 million ($6.9 million) contract to build a digital ID register, which will serve as the foundation for AGDIS, last spring with delivery expected for the end of 2024. In retrospect, that timeline now looks optimistic.

Article Topics

Australia  |  Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)  |  Australian Government Digital Identity System (AGDIS)  |  digital ID  |  EY  |  government purchasing