Announcement date
30/11/2023
Link to announcement
Digital ID Bill 2023
Problem being addressed
Australia’s identity system will keep fragmenting across the public and private sectors as technology rapidly evolves. The current system lacks overall strategic direction and coordination, with a proliferation of identity documents and the over-collection of personal information. This results in a costly and inefficient system that impacts privacy, increases the risk of identity crime and excludes many Australians. Expanding the use of digital IDs without strengthening the foundations of the identity system will transfer existing vulnerabilities and magnify adverse impacts. Public confidence is essential to the development and use of digital IDs, including the use of biometrics to make them more secure. Australians will need certainty regarding the security and privacy of digital IDs, and that they can control the use and sharing of information they contain.
Proposal
The proposal establishes a dedicated regulatory scheme for the Australian Government Digital ID System (AGDIS) and an accreditation scheme, including an established role for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as the initial Australian Digital ID Regulator. Verifying identity is a key foundation of engagement with government and the broader economy. This proposal sets out a strategic direction for reforms to modernise Australia’s identity system, and proposes improvements to the identity system, coordinating identity system reforms across portfolios, and alignment with related privacy, cybersecurity and service delivery reforms.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Adequate
Assessment comments
To have been assessed as ‘good practice’ under the Guide, the IA would have benefited from the inclusion of sensitivity and/or break-even analysis in relation to the estimated benefits.
Regulatory burden
The Department of Finance estimates an increase in regulatory costs of $1.5 million per year, averaged over ten years.