Whether a person has been the victim of identity fraud, had their home destroyed by a natural disaster or lost a passport overseas, they’ll know all too well how crucial their birth certificate was when proving their identity to access a range of vital services.
A birth certificate establishes a person’s identity in many life events, such as applying for a passport, driver’s licence, pension benefit and tax file number. It is also essential to vote, open a bank account, or prove a child’s identity when enrolling in school or joining a sporting team. Verifying your identity can be time consuming, but in today’s digital era it should take seconds.
The NSW Government, on behalf of all Australian states and territories, is creating a digital birth certificate that will be able to be used across the country. It will be delivered safely as an app through the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, allowing people to access their birth certificate when they want, from wherever they are.
An easily accessible digital birth certificate will help a person prove their identity online at times most convenient to them, from anywhere and in a secure way. This will make it easier to register and apply for things they need and enable the faster and simpler delivery of government services and benefits.
While obtaining a digital birth certificate won’t replace the paper version, it will give Australian-born citizens an alternative, removing concerns about how to safely keep and share the original document. Digital birth certificates are just one way that the NSW Government is simplifying identity verification with world-first technology to make doing business with government faster, easier, and more secure.
