Service NSW launches Digital ID pilot

Service NSW has started testing a new system designed to let residents verify who they are in a single step when interacting with state government online services.

The agency has invited residents over the age of 16 to participate in the pilot for the new digital identity verification system on a voluntary basis.

Initially, the new digital identity system will only be used with a limited number of services, starting with participants in the state’s toll rebate scheme.

The government said that it would expand the number of services that will be able to use the new identity verification system progressively.

NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib announced the pilot on LinkedIn, saying it was a critical first step before making the system available more widely.

“So much of our personal information is overshared when we hand over documents, but NSW Digital ID gives you more privacy and control to share only the information you need to,” Dib said.

The new system will give NSW residents who decide to participate in the program the ability to use their smartphone camera to verify their biometric facial features against a mix of conventional identity documents such as drivers’ licences, passports and birth certificates to create the new digital ID.

The paper-based identity documents are not stored once the digital ID is created, which will then be able to be reused for online transactions across multiple NSW online services.

The new verification process will see participants' paper-based identity information cross-referenced against data held by both state and territory, and federal issuing agencies.

That includes verification data held by the Attorney-General’s Department, Services Australia and Transport for NSW, according to the privacy collection notice for the pilot.

Service NSW managing director Greg Wells said the state had designed the new system to allow residents to interact with the state digitally in a more timely and efficient way.

“We know how frustrating it can be to find paperwork like birth certificates in a hurry, which is why NSW Digital ID will make proving your identity easy because you only have to prove it once, and in future is intended to work across a range of government services, saving you time and effort,” Wells said.

The new NSW Digital ID will sit within residents’ existing MyServiceNSW Account.

Initially targeted at NSW motorists seeking toll rebates, it’s understood that the pilot is expected to expand to a large number of NSW residents for testing purposes.