A pilot program to test New South Wales’ forthcoming decentralised digital identity system is at a standstill, with no new trials of the NSW Digital ID taking place since the arrival of the Minns government earlier this year.
As the federal government ramps up efforts to have an economy-wide digital identity scheme in place by mid-next year, it has also emerged that less than 70 people have tested the NSW system in two of the three closed pilots conducted to date.
The much-vaunted NSW Digital ID – a legacy of former Digital minister Victor Dominello – represents the next major step in the state’s digital transformation and builds on the successful digital driver’s licence in 2019.
Having begun groundwork for the NSW Digital ID back in 2020, the state government has been in the enviable position of being able to trial its system with users since just after the high-profile data breaches at Optus and Medibank last year.
The first of the six planned pilots began in November last year and was limited to those renewing their Working with Children Check invited to test the underpinning photo verification technology provided by Melbourne-based technology company BRYK Group.
The second closed pilot followed in January, with Service NSW partnering with Mastercard and drink delivery service Tipple to allow people to prove their age when ordering alcohol online using the NSW Digital ID.
In February, the third pilot began, allowing Service NSW customers to access government transactions that had previously required them to attend a service centre by using photo verification technology.
But InnovationAus.com understands that each of the three trials have now ended and no new trials have begun since the arrival of the Minns government in March, raising doubts about the status of the program.
The value of the contract for the underpinning Digital Identity and Verifiable Credentials (DIVC) platform with MATTR, a subsidiary of New Zealand’s largest telco Spark, has also recently been updated.
The contract, signed with the Auckland-based company for almost $29 million in June, is now estimated to be worth $16.8 million, according to the NSW government’s eTendering website.
A spokesperson for the Department of Customer Service said the change was intended to reflect the initial three-year term of the deal, rather than the full five years, with the “remaining contract value relates to future extension options as required”.
Asked if the pilots were progressing as envisaged last year or whether the program was facing delays, the spokesperson said: “The Department of Customer Service remains committed to the Digital Identity and Digital Wallet program.”
But with only limited participation in the pilots conducted to date and government preciously indicating that “rigorous testing” of the NSW Digital ID will need to take place before a future rollout takes, the full scheme could be some time away.
Just 66 users took part in the two of the three pilots. A total of 36 users were involved in the proof of age trial that began in January, while around 30 took part in government services pilot in February.
Ahead of the election, NSW Labor signaled it would continue to build on the efforts of Dr Dominello, including digital identity, but flagged that trust would be an increasingly important metric going forward.
“It’s critical we keep our finger on the pulise with [trust] because you cannot go forward with the big ideas of digital identity without the trust from those in the community that use it,” then shadow minister for digital and now Police minister Yasmin Catley said.
Digital minister Jihad Dib, who was appointed to the role in April, has yet to publicly outline the Minns government’s ambitions for digital identity but believes NSW will need to continue to push the envelope to maintain its standing as a leading digital government.
Last week’s state Budget provided no new money for the digital identity project, although future funding could be found from the little that remains in the Digital Restart Fund over the next nine months.
Earlier this month, the federal government kicked off public consultations on an exposure draft of legislation to expand its digital identity system to state and territory governments and the private sector, ending a an 18-month wait for legislation.
The Digital ID Bill, comes more than two years after an initial exposure draft was released by the former Coalition government, will enshrine in law the privacy safeguards and governance structures behind the Australian Government Digital Identity System (AGDIS).
Finance minister Katy Gallagher has previously said that if the consultation and bill progress as planned, the scheme could be in place as soon as mid-next year. Much of this would, however, depend on the Senate committee that reviews the bill.
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