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The Identity Verification Services Act 2023

The Identity Verification Services Act 2023 (Cth) was passed by the parliament on 7 December 2023. The Act provides a legislative basis for the operation of the identity verification services, including the Document Verification Service and the Face Verification Service. The Attorney-General's Department is progressing implementation of the new Act, and will consult directly with affected users of the services. Updates on the implementation will be published on the Attorney-General's Department website.

The Identity Verification Services Act 2023

The Identity Verification Services Act 2023 (Cth) was passed by the parliament on 7 December 2023. The Act provides a legislative basis for the operation of the identity verification services, including the Document Verification Service and the Face Verification Service. The Attorney-General's Department is progressing implementation of the new Act, and will consult directly with affected users of the services. Updates on the implementation will be published on the Attorney-General's Department website.

​​​​​​​​​We facilitate private, secure and fast services​

The Identity Verification Services help organisations to verify your identity in a way that is secure, fast and private.

This makes it easier and more convenient for you to access government and other services, and means that more services can be provided completely online.  

Most organisations using the Identity Verification Services will not need to keep copies of your identity documents, which helps to protect your privacy.

The Document Verification Service (DVS) checks whether the biographic information on your identity document matches the original record.  The result will simply be "yes" or "no". The Document Verification Service does not check facial images.  There are currently 14 different identity documents are verifiable through the Document Verification Service, including birth certificates, driver licences and Medicare cards.

Currently, access to the Face Verification Services (FVS) is only for immigration documents (visa and citizenship) and passports.

States and territories have agreed to provide driver licence images under an intergovernmental agreement signed by the Council of Australian Governments in 2017.

Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia are the first states to provide their data, with others to follow in a phased rollout over the next two years.

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We help protect​ Australians from crime​

​The Identity Verification Services also help prevent identity crime,​ one of the most common crimes in Australia.​

Identity crime is one of the most prevalent crimes in Australia. Approximately 1 in 3 Australians will be a victim of identity crime at some point in their lives. The Identity Verification Services' design better protects you from identity crime and saves the Australian community a substantial amount of time and money.

The Identity Verification Services cannot be used for real time monitoring or live facial recognition of people in public places — some​times referred to as 'mass surveillance'. The system is deliberately designed not to accept live video feeds, such as CCTV.

The Identity Verification Services will ​be used to verify your identity with your consent.

For individuals

Find out more about what the Identity Verification Services mean for you as an individual including how to get help for failed identity verification attempts.

For organisations

How different organisations interact with and access the Identity Verification Services.

​Our services verify your identity information with the document issuer, while protecting your privacy.​

Organisations need to make sure their customers are who they claim to be. The Identity Verification ​Services provide a secure, fast and private way for identity documents to be verified.​​

Secure

Data used for verification is encrypted, protected and deleted. Each issuer has its own secure system to protect the original record of your identity document.

Fast

The whole process is virtually instantaneous. Your identity information is sent to the issuer and a result is returned within seconds.

Private

The Identity Verification Services adopt a multi-faceted approach to protecting your personal information.