Thursday, 3 October 2024
Australia is taking a significant step forward in digital transformation with the new Digital Trust Service led by Austroads, marking an important step towards national and international harmonisation of mobile driver's licence standards and verification.
For the first time, the Digital Trust Service would enable Australian jurisdictions to safely and securely verify credentials in line with international best practice (ISO-compliant).
On 21 June, states and territories, along with the Commonwealth, agreed that verifiable credentials requiring cross-border verification would adopt a common rail guage of ISO 18013 and 23220. The mobile Driver Licence will be the first application of these standards. Austroads has been collaborating with jurisdictions to ensure states and territories are ISO-ready, aiming to launch new mobile drivers licences in 2025 and 2026.
At the Identity and Verifiable Credentials Summit 2024 (IVC24) in Sydney today, representatives from Europe, the United States and jurisdictional representatives from across Australia demonstrated how far this technology has come by joining together to walk through the U.S Department of Homeland Security’s CAT2 airport gate using their digital drivers licence. They symbolically boarded ‘Flight 18013’ to demonstrate the ease of identity and credential verification domestically and internationally.
The development of the Digital Trust Service has been led by Austroads with international leaders and domestic experts who have shaped global identity and verification credentials capabilities for Europe and North America. To support a cohesive rollout of mobile drivers licence across Australia, all government agencies across Australia have been working together to support the development of the Digital Trust Service.
The organisation behind the Digital Trust Service, Austroads, is the association of the Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, representing all levels of government. A longstanding authority in verifying drivers’ licences with decades of technology and data expertise, Austroads is uniquely placed to deliver the Digital Trust System, a world class solution that will safely and securely support driver licence verification across Australia’s jurisdictions.
Dr Geoff Allan, CEO Austroads, remarked that the delivery of the Digital Trust Service has set a new benchmark in cross jurisdictional collaboration, bringing about a nation-wide solution that can safely, securely and reliably support the ecosystem of organisations that rely on drivers’ licences to verify driver status, age, and identity.
“It seeks to solve complex credential challenges. Currently states and territories do not use a common standard. Fragmentation between states leaves Australians more open to security and road safety risks. The Digital Trust Service seeks to harmonise all digital drivers licences across Australia, ensuring that they can be verified regardless of the jurisdiction or location within Australia or New Zealand and even verified in North America and the European Union,” Allan said.
Ian Grossman, President and CEO for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) said, “The Digital Trust Service brings together the experience and learnings of the equivalent systems in North America and Europe. It brings global best practices that support safety, security, inclusion, reliability, and interoperability. It has shown the power of collaboration on a global scale to deliver better outcomes domestically and internationally."
Austroads, as the hosts of the International Identity and Verifiable Credentials Summit 2024 (IVC24), has brought together over 450 leaders in digital identity and verifiable credentials from four continents to attend three streams of events. One stream hosts the International Standards Working Group and plenary council focusing on digital identity and Verifiable Credentials. Another features identity providers, regulators and issuers showcasing the latest developments in Verifiable Credentials. The third stream brings together providers and issuers of credentials with verifiers at the 10th Interoperability Event, where Austroads own Digital Trust Service (DTS) will be used to harmonise national and international wallets and credentials.
Comments attributable to Hon. John Graham, MLC, Minister for Roads, New South Wales:
“As one of the first jurisdictions in the world to develop a digital driver licence, the NSW Government is excited to be partnering with Austroads to develop the Digital Trust Service.
“This will ensure NSW continues to be a leading partner in international identity and credential verification.
Comments attributable to Hon. David Michael MLA, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Western Australia
‘Western Australia is excited to be involved in developing this world class system that enables safe and secure verification of identity, not just in WA but across the world.”
“I would like to acknowledge the collaboration between Austroads, the WA Department of Transport and the other jurisdictions which has enabled significant progress in the important digital transformation space.”
In the photo (L to R):
- Florent Tournois, France Identité (Ministère de l'intérieur - ANTS)
- Jim Queenan, Idemia
- Christopher Caras, Driver Licence Division Utah
- Christopher Williams, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Ivo van der Werff, RDW
- Eric Jorgensen, AAMVA, Arizona Motor Vehicle Division
- Negash Assefa, AAMVA, Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
- Arjan Geluk, A4advisory
- Donald Young, Department of Corporate and Digital Development Northern Territory
- Rebecca Poduti, Department of Transport Western Australia
- Simon Brodie, Transport for New South Wales
- Tim Mitchell, Department of Transport and Planning Victoria
- Jurgen Schaub, Service Victoria
- Rehan Arif, Service New South Wales