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The Digital ID Act commenced on 1 December 2024,  please read our article on what's changing for more information.

An easier, more secure, and voluntary way to verify your ID

Gathering your ID documents and going to a shopfront or office to confirm your ID 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 online 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.

Your 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 ID. Digital ID can make it easier for 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 shopfronts across the country. 

Eligibility

You must be 15 years or over to create a Digital ID using the Australian Government's ID provider myID.

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 individuals

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. 

A Digital ID will:

  • reduce the need to remember usernames and passwords to sign into online services.
  • enable more services to be offered online with a secure way to check your ID wherever you are, at any time.
  • not replace any of your ID documents. It will give you a simpler and safer way to prove your ID online. 

Read more about Digital ID for everyday life.

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 documents customers need to share. This reduces the amount of personal data a business needs to hold. Use of a Digital ID lowers the impact of data breaches for the business and their customers. 

Data breaches have impacted many Australians in recent years and are one of the biggest privacy risks Australians face today. 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 access the services 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.