#116 Meet “Tex” – Australia’s rootinest tootinest digital identity system

This week Arj is joined by elevenM’s resident digital ID ‘aficionado’ Brett Watson to discuss all things digital identity.

In Episode 85 Jordan and Brett unpacked what a digital ID is, what it can do, and the various services and components that make up a digital ID system. Since then, the Australian Government has passed enabling legislation for its digital identity system and is currently consulting on legislative rules.

With the legislation passed, the government is now shifting its focus on digital ID from theory to practice. In a recent speech to the National Press Club, the Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten was raising awareness about the benefits of a digital ID, announcing a proof of concept and pilot of a digital ID capability.

In this episode Arj and Brett discuss digital ID’s (steady) progress over the last year, and explore the risks, challenges and misconceptions that are likely to be a feature of the digital ID conversation over the next 12 months.

Links:
A government explainer on the Digital ID legislation: https://www.digitalidsystem.gov.au/what-is-digital-id/digital-id-act-2024.
The transcript of Minister Shorten’s speech at the National Press Club on 13 August 2024: https://ministers.dss.gov.au/speeches/15616.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s report – ‘Australia’s new digital ID system: finding the right way to implement it’: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/australias-new-digital-id-system-finding-right-way-implement-it.
About Victor Dominello and the government’s myGov advisory group: https://www.innovationaus.com/dominello-to-lead-mygov-advisory-group/.
About the discontinued Gov.UK Verify digital ID system: https://trustcloud.tech/blog/collapse-gov-uk-verify-serious-questions-national-id-systems/