Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my parliamentary colleagues for their contributions to the debate on the Identity Verification Services Bill 2023 and the Identity Verification Services (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023. These bills are a priority for the Albanese government as they will enable Australians to conveniently and securely engage with the digital economy and access critical services while minimising risk of identity fraud and theft. The bills provide clear legislative authority for identity verification services with strong privacy safeguards and oversight and transparency arrangements. This supports industry, governments and Australians to benefit from the strong identity verification available through these services.

The bills will authorise consent based identity verification through two services: first, the Document Verification Service, where biographic information is verified; and second, the Face Verification Service, where biometric information such as a photograph is verified. Both the Document Verification Service and the Face Verification Service match a document or facial image to one record, known as one-to-one matching.

Participating public and private sector entities can request biographic or biometric verification of the details provided by their customers against records held by a document-issuing agency, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the issuer of passports.

As the credential most commonly used by Australians to verify their identity, drivers licences from all states and territories can be checked through the Document Verification Service. The Identity Verification Services Bill will expand the government's existing Face Verification Service to include images used in state and territory drivers licences, through the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution. The Identity Verification Services Bill authorises limited government agencies to use one-to-one matching through the face identification service for the purpose of protecting the identity of persons with a legally assumed identity, such as undercover officers and protected witnesses. There is a substantial public interest in allowing one-to-one matching to be undertaken in these circumstances.

The other uses of one-to-one matching through the identity verification services will not be authorised and will therefore be prohibited. Importantly, the Identity Verification Services Bill contains strong privacy protections, safeguards and oversight measures. This includes the application of privacy laws and the Australian privacy principles, consent requirements, requirements to report data breaches and appropriate complaint-handling processes. The Identity Verification Services Bill authorises the collection, use and disclosure of identification information for limited purposes and includes offences to prevent unauthorised access to, recording of or disclosure of protected information.

The Identity Verification Services (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023 will amend the Australian Passports Act 2005 to allow for automated disclosures of personal information to a specified person via the Document Verification Service or the Face Verification Service. This will enable the continued verification of identity using passports.

Throughout this debate, we have heard differing views on some aspects of the legislation. The government looks forward to receiving the report of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee on the bills and will consider any recommendations it may make, as well as issues raised by members in this debate. Australians need strong and secure identity verification services. The limits and safeguards in the bills strike the right balance between achieving fast and convenient identity verification without compromising on privacy. These bills demonstrate the government's commitment to the continued delivery of critical services and the protection of Australians from the threat of identity fraud and theft. I commend the bill to the House.

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