Speakers
Synopsis
Digital ID was highlighted in the Australian Governments 2023-2030 Cyber Security strategy as one of the proposed key initiatives. Various regulatory constraints require businesses to verify the identity of their customers, for very good security reasons such as preventing money laundering, or restricting alcohol sales to over 18s only. Digital ID provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of sensitive information collected and stored by such organisations, while still ensuring trustworthy verification of the necessary user attributes. Of course, this shifts the onus to those operating the digital ID systems, who are then responsible to ensure the security of their users’ data; there are also key privacy considerations to be included in designing and operating such a system.
After a number of stops and starts, the Digital ID Bill passed the Senate in March 2024, and is expected to pass the House of Representatives in May 2024. We have also seen reports in April 2024 of contracts being let to implement key regulatory systems required by legislation.
In this talk we will provide an update on the progress of the Bill and its implementation – both in terms of the Government’s progress in setting up the required systems and processes, but also how the private sector is responding, given the timescales the Government has now committed to allowing them access to participate in the Australian Government Digital Identity System. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of the approach that the Government has chosen to pursue and propose recommendations for how the Digital ID Bill should be implemented to ensure an overall digital ID system that balances utility and ease of use, privacy and security.
