Digital ID’s biggest challenge may be explaining how it works


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Joseph Brookes
Administrator

Australians are struggling to understand the “concept” of the upcoming national Digital ID system, government commissioned research has found, confirming a key concern about the roll out of the complex system.

Now eight years and $600 million in the making, the government’s Digital ID system intends to reduce the sharing of sensitive data by allowing citizens to verify their identity via approved identity providers.

A successful system would mean Australians do not have to surrender sensitive information like passports and licences directly to as many organisations – a risk underscored by high profile data breaches at Optus and Medibank last year.

Government commissioned research by Canstar has found Australians like the idea of having more control of their personal information and reducing it being shared with others.

But the role of government in the system – which will act as an identity provider and user through its own service delivery – and the overarching concept of Digital ID remains a concern.

“The research showed that people had a real interest because they sort of understood that this could help them with the security of their information,” Finance deputy secretary Nathan Williamson told Senate Estimates in October.

“But they didn’t really necessarily understand the underlying concepts behind it [Digital ID] and how it actually worked. So there’s a there’s a big education piece that needs to be done to help people understand how it works and the benefits that go with it.”

The research has not been released by government yet but Finance minister Katy Gallagher said she is open to sharing it as she looks for bipartisan support on Digital ID, which begun during the Turnbull government.

“This is a project that I hope that the whole Parliament can work together on. It’s so critically important from a protection point of view,” Ms Gallagher said.

Australia may look to Estonia for an example. The country rolled out a digital identity scheme in the 1990s as part of a digital government push. Today, Estonia’s digital ID is used by around 70 per cent of the population to access more than 3000 services,  according to the country’s Ambassador to Australia Kersti Eesmaa.

She told a recent SXSW Sydney panel that success in Australia would hinge on fostering trust in government and creating a good experience for citizens, more so than specific policy or regulation.

“Whether it’s a good service, whether it’s pretty, whether it’s intuitive, whether it’s good, whether you feel safe by the identity provided – the customer will decide.” Ambassador Eesmaa said.

Key to early uptake of digital identity is pairing it with frequently used services, like banking and utilities, not necessarily the less often used government services, Ambassador Eesmaa said.

“The key to the success [in Estonia] was that people could actually use a digital identity where they use the service on a regular basis,” she said

“So even my father who is 83 uses a digital signature on a daily basis. And in Australia, we could think [about use in] remote areas, giving equal opportunity to everybody [with] no need to travel. So there’s so much you can also promote about digital identity from that positive side.”

The Albanese government this week appointed experts in delivery, privacy and inclusion to a new Digital ID expert advisory panel as legislation underpinning an economy wide roll out is finalised.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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