An easier, more secure, and voluntary way to verify your ID
Gathering your ID documents and going to a shop front or office to confirm your identity can be time-consuming and challenging.
Your Digital ID lets you verify your ID online for work, education and personal use. You can use your Digital ID anywhere, anytime. Each time you use your Digital ID, you will need to agree before any of your information is shared with the service you want to use.
A Digital ID is an online method of confirming your ID that does not require physical documents. Digital ID does not replace your physical ID documents. It is a more secure and convenient alternative to traditional forms of identification. It allows you to do things like changing jobs, applying for a rental or accessing many government services online.
Choice
The decision to create and use a Digital ID is up to you.
If you can’t use Digital ID, or don’t want to, you can keep accessing government services. This can be done over the phone or in person at government shop fronts across the country.
Eligibility
You must be 15 years or over to create a Digital ID using the Australian Government's identity provider myGovID.
ID proofing levels
When accessing or applying for services, you often need to prove who you are. Services have different ID requirements depending on the level of risk of providing services to the wrong person. Read more about ID proofing levels.
What are the benefits?
For you
Digital ID lets you access online services without looking for physical ID documents or going to a government or business office. You can manage your affairs from anywhere, whenever you want.
Using a Digital ID means fewer organisations will need to keep your personal information. This will lower the chances of your data being stolen.
It reduces the need to remember usernames and passwords to sign into online services.
Digital ID will not take the place of your ID documents. It will give you a simpler and safer way to prove your ID online.
Digital ID means more services can be offered online with a secure way to check your ID wherever you are, at any time.
For business
Businesses only want to keep information from your ID documents when they have to. They only need to make sure that they’re dealing with someone who is genuine, not a fraudster.
Digital ID reduces the amount of documentations customers need to share. This reduces the amount of personal data a business needs to hold. Use of a Digital ID lowers the chance of data theft for the business and their customers.
Use of Digital IDs will lead to fewer copies of sensitive ID documents. Fewer copies reduce the risk of theft or exposure through a data breach.
Data breaches have affected millions of Australians in recent years. Data breaches are one of the biggest privacy risks Australians face today. Identity crime costs Australians more than 3.1 billion each year. A reduction in the impact of future data breaches will protect people and business from scams and identity crime.
For government
Digital ID is a tool for improving online government services.
Online government services make it easier to get what you need from government. This is especially for people in remote areas and Australians with disability. A secure and trusted ID solution will enable more responsive and tailored services.
These benefits include:
- more efficient government service delivery. e.g. shortening the time to get a Tax File Number from 28 days to 10 minutes.
- Faster help from government and business for people who lose access to their ID documents. This may be due to scams or other situations, such as natural disasters or family violence.