Countries Continue to Explore Digital Identity

Whilst pockets of personally identifiable information (PII) exist in all countries’ civil registries, some in physical documents but increasingly in digital records, not all countries are at the same stage of establishing a national digital identity – as these two examples show.

In the Bahamas, Prime Minister Philip Davis has said that he is planning the roll-out of a national identification system over the next 10 months, with the distribution of a national ID card in early 2023.

As is often the case, the move towards a national digital identity system is part of a country’s broader digital agenda in the delivery of eServices.

‘We consider the creation of a national identification system and digital national identity card as fundamental to the government’s ability to provide government services. It is an essential part of the framework upon which information and communications technology projects can be advanced,’ the Prime Minister said.

Davis noted that his administration will continue to progress towards the digitisation of government departments and agencies, advance the cashless payment process for government services, facilitate the FinTech revolution and provide a regulated environment for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

According to Davis, an expert in the digital information systems segment will soon be brought on and tasked with developing a strategy and an action plan for the phased implementation of a national digital identification system.

In another Anglophone country, Australia’s digital and data ministers have agreed to ‘actively explore’ a national digital identity system and to improve national data collection, reporting and sharing.

The federal government has poured $450 million into its digital identity system but has missed its own deadlines for introducing legislation to expand it to the country’s states, territories and the private sector.

In previous data and digital ministers meetings, a national digital identity has been discussed, with a focus on using it for federated services and cross border credentials among other economic opportunities. According to a communiqué released after the most recent meeting, the ministers are now ‘actively exploring’ the national system.

‘Ministers agreed to actively explore adopting a national digital identity ecosystem. All governments are working closely to turn this commitment into tangible benefits for all Australians,’ the communiqué, circulated by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, said.

‘This whole-of-economy solution would deliver significant economic benefits for Australia and support Australia’s vision to be a leading digital economy and society by 2030.

‘Ministers also noted the critical importance of interoperability and mutual recognition of digital credentials.’

A national system would be based on the federal government’s whole-of-government digital identity program, which is aiming to provide identity verification across a range of government services and private sector offerings.

The legislation is believed to be at a draft stage after consultations over several years but has not been introduced to Parliament, despite the government committing to do this.

The digital identity legislation expands the scheme to the private sector and state and territory governments, as well as legislating privacy and consumer protections and establishing permanent governance arrangements and a regulatory regime.