Privacy 'risk' in national ID plan
By James Riley
January 21, 2005

THE identity of Australians could be subjected to unprecedented
scrutiny under the biggest security protection plan since the failed
Australia Card.

Federal cabinet will soon see a proposal for a national "document
verification service" designed to combat identity-related crimes
ranging from welfare fraud to terrorism.

It would give federal and state government agencies and key businesses
the right to verify the identity of clients by cross-checking birth
certificates, drivers' licences and passports through a central data
exchange hub.

The Attorney-General's Department is finalising the proposal for the
online system.

Airlines, banks and other businesses vulnerable to welfare fraud or
terrorism are keen to be part of the project. 

The introduction of new-generation passports - with so-called
biometric data including fingerprints or facial features - means 
the system could have extraordinary reach over the coming years.

The scheme has the same identification security goals as the Hawke
government's politically unpalatable Australia Card proposal in 1987.

But unlike the previous proposal, the Government is opposing a single
number to identify every Australian.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Government had misgivings
about any national identity regime based on a single identifier and
was instead looking at the technical and legal implications of setting
up a document verification service.

Mr Ruddock said the Government believed its DVS proposal would be more
effective than an Australia Card-like single number identifier. 

(snip / snip)

The verification system proposal is expected to be put to cabinet
within months.

Mr Ruddock said in future the system could be extended to include
verification of biometric identifiers such as the fingerprints and
facial recognition systems being trialled in Australia's next-
generation passports.

He said the system would also target commercial crime related to
identity theft, such as credit card and social security fraud.

Governments could open the verification system to private sector
organisations that rely on identity management, like airlines and
financial institutions.

Mr Ruddock said the Government might set up an independent authority
charged with managing the exchange of verification data.

Australian Bankers Association chief executive David Bell said the
financial institutions were keen to join the verification scheme and
had been in direct discussion with the Government on the project.

The ABA had completed a technical feasibility study on the scheme, 
and was now working on a cost-benefit analysis.

Mr Bell said it was possible to create an information hub to verify
documents while adhering to existing privacy law.

"Our sole interest would be to get a yes or no answer to whether a
particular document is valid or not," he said.

The Australian

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Full article at News Interactive ...
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,12002147%255E421,00.html


Cheers, Steve...

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