OpenID Foundation says interoperability should drive Australia’s verifiable credentials strategy

Interoperability is a key issue identified by the OpenID Foundation in its response to the Australian Government’s Department of Finance consultation on verifiable credentials policy.

In a published statement, the OpenID Foundation’s Australian Digital Trust Community Group (ADT CG) “encourages the Department to continue to focus on interoperability as part of evolving the Australian Government Digital ID System (AGDIS).”

“The central message of the ADT CG’s response is that interoperability should remain a priority as the Department of Finance evolves AGDIS,” says a release from OpenID. “Interoperability is the property that allows credentials and digital wallets to work across services, sectors, and borders. Prioritizing it now will shape how effectively the ecosystem functions for issuers, verifiers, and holders alike.”

Standards are also counted as a key enabler of the system, with OpenID for Verifiable Presentation, OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance, OpenID Connect, FAPI 2.0, OpenID Federation, and Shared Signals named as proven standards that can provide a tested foundation.

Verifiable credentials are faster, cheaper option

Specific recommendations in the statement address the potential benefits of VCs, and viable use cases for Australia. Priority use cases are those “where credentials are likely to be reused across multiple relying parties, sectors and jurisdictions.”

“The greatest economic value will come not from individual credential implementations but from establishing interoperable credentials that can be used repeatedly across government and the private sector without requiring bespoke integrations.”

High priority use cases include professional licensing and registration, academic and vocational qualifications, right to work and immigration status, and business identity and beneficial ownership. Across these, benefits include streamlining, fraud prevention, compliance and reduced costs.

Other use cases identified as “valuable” include government benefits, concessions and service eligibility; age verification; and rental and housing applications.

Interoperability, interoperability, and furthermore, interoperability

In its statement on general benefits, the the ADT CG declares that “verifiable credentials (VCs) have the potential to improve economic efficiency and productivity by reducing the costs associated with identity verification, compliance, fraud management and information exchange.”

“VCs can significantly reduce the burden of repeatedly proving identity and eligibility when accessing services such as banking, telecommunications, rentals, employment and government programs.” They can help address the growing problem of identity fraud. They can support data minimization through selective disclosure.

“Finally, VCs based on open and interoperable standards can create economy-wide network

effects. Open standards enable credentials issued in one sector or jurisdiction to be recognized and verified in another, increasing portability and maximising the return on investment across the ecosystem.”

In other words, verifiable credentials need interoperability to succeed; it remains the golden fleece for digital identity globally.

Article Topics

Australia  |  interoperability  |  OpenID Foundation  |  reusable digital ID  |  verifiable credentials