The Digital ID Act 2024 has been passed by Parliament and will commence by 1 December 2024.
The Act will expand the way individuals will be able to verify their identity online by establishing a voluntary accreditation scheme for providers of Digital ID services in addition to the Australian Government’s accredited Digital ID provider, myGovID. Background.
Digital ID will be available instead of providing physical ID documents.
The ACCC will be appointed as the initial Digital ID regulator
The OAIC will be the privacy regulator of the Digital ID system.
The Department of Finance is consulting on the proposed 2024 Digital ID Accreditation Rules, Accreditation Data Standards, and Digital ID Rules which support the Digital ID Act.
Biometric information
The OAIC will particularly protect the use of biometric information which can be collected, used, and disclosed by accredited entities (where authorised by their accreditation conditions), for the purposes of verifying the identity of an individual, and/or authenticating an individual to their Digital ID.
Biometric information collected for the purposes of verifying identity must be destroyed immediately after verification is complete.
Biometric information collected for authentication purposes can be retained where the individual has consented to this so the biometric can be used to authenticate the individual in the future, for example, to log back into a Digital ID account using a face biometric match with the individual’s consent.
The rules may require that biometrics are stored in an encrypted manner or on the individual’s local device to prevent access to the original image while maintaining the authentication functionality.
If you found this article helpful, then subscribe to our news emails to keep up to date and look at our video courses for in-depth training. Use the search box at the top right of this page or the categories list on the right hand side of this page to check for other articles on the same or related matters.
Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
Email:
About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.
