NSW Government to develop world first digital birth certificate

The NSW Government is set to develop and deploy the world’s first digital birth certificates as part of the Premier’s Government Made Easy (GME) initiative.

To spearhead the operation, NSW Government has selected global technology consultancy Thoughtworks to lead the project development.

A digital birth certificate is expected to ease the challenges that citizens currently face in preserving the piece of paper given to them at birth, improving accessibility and security, as well as efficiency gains in applications requiring a birth certificate identification.

The digital version is complementary to the paper certificate.

According to Amit Padhiar, A/Registrar, NSW Births Deaths and Marriages, “This exercise is about delivering greater convenience to our customers, but it is critically important to do so while protecting their information and meeting other key criteria such as accessibility and ease-of-use across multiple devices and platforms and providing the ability to opt-in and opt-out.”

Thoughworks will deliver a digital birth certificate that operates on multiple platforms, including Apple Ios and Android, and will undergo beta and quality assurance testing before it is made public.

According to Kristan Vingrys, managing director for Thoughtworks Australia, “Every industry is facing pressure to become more digitally nimble, and we are incredibly proud to be working with the NSW Government on such a momentous step forward into our digital future – one that will set a new standard for other states and countries to follow.”

Thoughtworks currently operates across 17 countries with over 10,000 employees, working with organisations and governments to put technology at the core of innovation.

According to NSW Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, “NSW is the most digitally advanced jurisdiction in Australia and has already delivered popular digital products such as the Digital Driver Licence. This is what smart governments do – remove paperwork, save people time and put the customer at the centre.”

Attorney General Mark Speakman said the government is currently undertaking community consultation.

"It's crucial to make any Digital Birth Certificate a highly secure document that is easy to authenticate and protected from fraudsters and criminals," Speakman said.

"That's why we are carefully co-designing this proposal with the community to help prevent identity theft and crime."