Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Digital ID (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Bill as brought to the House by the honourable Minister for Finance. This bill is part of the Digital ID Bill package. This legislation is long overdue. Way back in 2014, the Australian government's financial system inquiry raised concerns with the lack of a cohesive approach to identity verification. It also recommended the establishment of a federated and regulated model of trusted digital identification. The former coalition government, under prime ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison, ignored those recommendations and actually did nothing to develop a digital ID system. What was the result of this? While the coalition government dithered and sent faxes to each other, our world became more digital. From social media to GPS directions in our car, we're more connected now than ever before. Many of us shop online, we listen to music online, we do our banking online and we access government services online. We each have an extensive personal digital footprint, and this needs to be private and secure—now more than ever before.

There's a stark contrast between the former coalition government's terminal procrastination and the actions already taken by the Albanese Labor government. In under two years, we've held broad consultation on digital IDs, we've established an expert panel, we've drafted legislation and we've introduced these bills to the House—removing the digital road block and getting on with the job. With the bills, the Albanese Labor government strengthens and expands Australia's digital ID system by developing a framework of robust legislative and regulatory safeguards to sit behind digital IDs. Labor is committing more than $145 million over four years to support the digital ID system, including the implementation of independent regulation and oversight.

If you have a digital ID, you have a secure and convenient way to verify your identity when using online services. A digital ID takes the place of identifying yourself via traditional methods such as your birth certificate, your passport or your driver's licence. It's safer because then there aren't multiple copies of your personal identification information being stored by different organisations—organisations that may be susceptible to cyberattack. We remember the Optus data breach in 2022 that affected up to 10 million Australians. Past and present Optus customers had their names, their birth dates, their home addresses, their phone numbers, their email contacts, and their passport and drivers licence numbers stolen. It was an administrative nightmare for customers to resolve and it also led to great uncertainty and fear amongst those affected. One of my constituents told me after the breach: 'I am now living with the constant worry that my identity will be stolen and loans will be taken out in my name. I've taken all necessary precautions against this; however, I'm still extremely concerned. This should not be happening to all of these people who just signed up to a mobile or Internet plan, which are basic essentials in today's society. Our personal data is our livelihood and should be protected as such.'

The digital ID bills are part of the Albanese Labor government's response to the worrying number of cyber attacks on businesses. They'll give both businesses and consumers confidence that their personal data is secure. For Australians with a digital ID, it will decrease the possibility of their personal data being stolen, as they won't need to submit numerous copies of ID documents to numerous different businesses and organisations. This then reduces the need for these businesses and organisations to retain the data. In fact, it's estimated that digital ID could save more than $3 billion per year in identity fraud costs for Australians.

So what does the digital ID look like? It is not a new card to carry around and, thankfully, it's not a new number or associated password to remember, unlike in many other countries. We are designing the system to operate in Australian conditions, and a person's digital ID will be verified against the existing credentials. Australians will be able to verify their ID online against government-issued ID documents—the obvious ones being their birth certificate, their driver's licence, their Medicare card or their passport. We've already seen a significant take-up of digital IDs—10.5 million Australians now have a myGov digital ID, which enables access to more than 135 different government services.

Under the proposed legislation Australians will have the choice to select a Commonwealth, state, territory or industry digital ID provider. However, it's important to note that participation is fully voluntary. People can decide if they want a digital ID, when to create it, when to reuse it and when to discontinue it. This means that Australians can continue to access government services on the phone or in person if they do not have a digital ID, ensuring that we recognise that not everyone is able to access the digital world. Some people don't want to, and some people might actually go down that road and say, 'No, that's not for me.' We want to have freedom of choice.

The approach of the Albanese Labor government is inclusive. It ensures that a digital ID is available to everyone who elects to use one while it also ensures that people can continue to access government services or businesses, as they currently do and have done for many, many years, either over the phone or in person. I have some constituents who love having a conversation with people about government services. They don't want it to be quick and easy. They actually want to have a chat to people—like having a talking lane in a shopping centre.

Beyond this, we are planning a whole-of-economy rollout. The Albanese Labor government will work in partnership with the states and territories so that people can use their state digital ID to access federal government services—the cross-pollination that comes with federation. We'll also work with private sector businesses to expand the use of government digital IDs so that it becomes more secure for people to do their online banking, to get that mobile phone plan or to hire a rental car. Again, it's reducing the need to share personal ID documentation across a range of businesses and to cart around birth certificates, passports et cetera.

Another crucial benefit of having a digital ID is that it's always accessible and ready for use. In recent natural disasters, such as in February 2022 when my electorate was flooded, people with a myGov ID were able to quickly access support payments through Services Australia without having to locate the originals of their personal identification documentation, which can be hard to do when your house is under water or affected by a bushfire, or when a cyclone is imminent. It's also important that we have chargers for our phones in disasters, which is something that I know Minister Murray Watt is working on. We need easier access to financial support during disasters. It means one less thing for affected people to worry about.

Digital IDs can also be useful for women who are escaping domestic and family violence and are unable to retrieve their identity documentation when they run out of the house but, with a digital ID, are able to verify themselves for services and payments immediately. That's a big decision, particularly if there are children involved in a violent domestic household.

The bills put in place four measures that ensure Australians are in control of their digital IDs and that their digital IDs are safeguarded. Firstly, it strengthens the voluntary accreditation scheme for digital ID providers. Public and private accredited providers will have to meet strong privacy protections and security safeguards. This ensures that Australians using accredited providers can rest easy knowing their personal information is private and secure. This includes confirming that a deactivated digital ID cannot be used or reactivated without the person's consent. Secondly, it legislates for the expansion of the Australian government digital ID system so that protections are in place across the country. Thirdly, it adds to the privacy protections already in place in the Privacy Act. Lastly, it provides a strong foundation for the governance of an economy-wide digital ID system through independent regulation, initially through the ACCC.

There are further measures to ensure privacy, with people's information to be deleted when it's no longer needed. They don't need to have a copy of your birth certificate forever from that car hire from 20 years ago. It also further restricts digital ID service providers' data-profiling activities. The Digital ID (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Bill supports the principal bill by making arrangements to ensure smooth transitions from existing unlegislated frameworks. The Trusted Digital Identity Framework will be replaced by the new Digital ID Accreditation Rules, as laid out by the principal bill. Participants in the unlegislated Australian government digital ID system will be transitioned to the new, legislated system. What this means in practice is automatic accreditation in the new system for entities that were accredited under the old system. There are provisions to make rules, after the commencement of the bill, to take future complex information technology infrastructure changes into account. This bill also amends key security and administrative Commonwealth legislation to ensure the principal bill works as intended. The acts to be amended are the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977, the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and the Privacy Act 1988.

The Digital ID initiative is just one of the ways in which Labor is keeping Australians safe online, alongside the National Strategy for Identity Resilience; funding for the ACCC's National Anti-Scam Centre, which is doing incredible work; the Identity Verification Services Bill 2023; and continued reforms to the Privacy Act and the Cyber Security Strategy.

These two bills work together to implement the transition to a legislative framework for an economy-wide digitised ID system. At the core of these bills is the fact that Australians with digital IDs can have added reassurance that their personal identification documentation is not being stored by multiple service providers and businesses and that their digital ID remains secure and private. I commend the bills to the House.

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