Govt fails to deliver identity review after two years – Strategy – Security

The federal authorities is sitting down on a significant review it commissioned two a long time in the past to check out superior approaches to safeguard and take care of the identity data of Australians.

The review of nationwide arrangements for the defense and management of identity data was introduced in Oct 2018 to tell the government’s next identity approach.

Led by former Attorney-General’s Department secretary Roger Wilkins, it was to determine how to improve the government’s defense and management of identity data.

Just one concentrate location was how identity paperwork and qualifications that are “most usually relied on as evidence of a person’s identity” are issued, made use of and managed.

The review was expected to choose just two months to finish, although this was subsequently pushed out by a different 6 months, with the remaining report handed to authorities in mid-2019.

But far more than a calendar year has now handed since the review was concluded, and the government is nevertheless ready to publicly launch its conclusions or any of the public submissions.

It is also two a long time since the review formally kicked off. In that time, the expense of identity crime in Australia has risen from $two billion to $three.one billion a calendar year. 

The Department of Dwelling Affairs informed iTnews the review “remains beneath consideration” and will tell a foreseeable future nationwide identity approach, although it would not comment on any particulars.

“The authorities is dedicated to safeguarding Australians from identity crime and to producing it less complicated for men and women to verify their identities when accessing authorities and other expert services,” the spokesperson said.

The government’s current identity approach has not been up-to-date since 2012.

The spokesperson also would not say whether delays to the passage of the Identity-matching Expert services Bill 2019 experienced impacted the launch of the review.

The legal guidelines, which will make way for the proposed facial biometrics matching plan, stalled in Oct 2019 following a bipartisan parliamentary committee requested a rewrite.

Previously this week, the authorities dedicated a even further $256.six million in the direction of the Govpass digital identity technique – far more than doubling its financial investment about the previous five a long time.

In spite of far more than $210 million invested on the technique to date, there have been issues integrating the myGovID credential with the authorities expert services portal myGov.

The Australian Taxation Place of work is also to make your mind up on the anti-spoofing software package, or ‘liveness solution’ that will underpin myGovID and protect against the creation of fraudulent identities. 

The software package will also make it possible for myGovID end users to accessibility far more confidential expert services that involve a increased identity proofing level.