Government launches first of eight digital ID pilots

myGovID Tax File Number pilot begins

The government has officially launched the first pilot of myGovID, its digital identity platform.

It is one of eight myGovID pilots that will be conducted over the next nine months, human services and digital transformation minister Michael Keenan said.

This year’s federal budget included $92.4 million to accelerate the Digital Transformation Agency’s GovPass program. (According to the DTA, GovPass encompass its entire digital identity program of work, from policy and processes through to the technology and digital ID systems.)

As previously foreshadowed, the first myGovID pilot focuses on Tax File Number applications. Previously, a TFN application required an individual to verify their identity in person, but the new digital ID platform will reduce the process from up to 30 days to “minutes,” the government said.

Around 750,000 people apply for TFNs each year.

The DTA believes that GovPass could help move 2.8 million government transactions online.

The government said that myGovID is an opt-in system. It is based on a mobile app that requires an individual to supply a range of personal details, such as name, date of birth, email address, and driver’s licence details or passport details.

The app takes a photo of the individual that is compared against passport or driver licence image databases. Liveness detection will be used to prevent fraud.

The image is deleted once the check is completed, the government said.

“When fully operational, myGovID will transform the way Australians interact with Government by removing the burden on them to have to come into an office to prove who they are over and over again,” Keenan said in a statement.

“Instead, if they wish to do so, they will be able to complete transactions at any time of the day or night from the comfort of their own homes by using a simple mobile app.”

The minister said he is “confident Australians will embrace it fully when it is released publicly next year.”

Separately, the government is currently conducting a review of the protection and management of identity information.

Among other issues the review is considering relevant legislative frameworks, “practices and systems for the collection, use, sharing of identity information”, and “coordination amongst government agencies, and between government and other entities.”

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Tags IdentityMichael KeenanDigital Transformation Agency (DTA)GovPassmyGovID

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