What is a digital identity?

A digital identity is an electronic representation of a person online.

With an appropriately established and verified digital identity, a government agency can be assured that the person they are interacting with is who they say they are.

Your digital identify contains your personal information and enables you to transact with a range of government online services.

NOTE:  A digital identity is not a replacement for physical documents such as a birth certificate, visa, driver’s licence or passport. If you are unable to use a digital identity, or don’t wish to, contact the appropriate government agency to discuss other arrangements.

Should you wish to transact online with a government service, and that service requires you to verify that it is you who is transacting, then yes you will need a digital identity.

Otherwise, creating a digital identity is your choice and not mandatory.

A digital identity can make transacting with government services easier, quicker and is safe.

Your digital identity contains personal information such as your name, date of birth, contact details and address etc., or even proof of identity documents such as passport or drivers licence details. These personal details are valuable and sensitive.

It is important that you do not share your online digital identity with others. Your digital identity is associated with your account (your login and password/passphrase), do not share your account sign-in details.

The government agency you are transacting with will assume it is you in control of the digital identity.

Yes. Safeguarding your personal information, and identity, is a top priority. All personal data involved in the creation of a digital identity is encrypted and stored securely in Australia.

Australian Government digital identity providers must follow strict security rules about how your information is collected, treated, stored and shared. The Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) is the accreditation framework for digital identity services and outlines these requirements.

Contact the government agency you are transacting with immediately. They will guide you with the next steps.

If you elect to use one of the free providers to create your online digital identity then you will incur no cost. Any digital identity created with an Australian Government Agency incurs no cost to you.

Identity strength refers to the level to which you have proven your online digital identity and will be based on requirements of the government service you wish to use.

Online identity strength can be thought of as similar to providing your name and phone number (or a bill addressed to you) for your local library card, through to needing your passport and driver’s license to open a bank account or take out a home loan.

Services that deal with confidential or private matters may require a higher identity proofing level.

Your digital identity strength, also called an identity proofing level or IP, is broken down as IP1, IP1+, IP2, IP2+, IP3 etc., with some agencies using the terms Basic, Standard and Strong.

You can use a stronger digital identity to access a service which requires a lower level identity strength however it is advised to not go above the identity strength level that you require.

You need to find out the minimum digital identity strength you require, which will be based on the government service that you wish to use. This is ascertained simply by signing into the service you require and following the instructions.

Some government services require more identity evidence than others, i.e. a higher identity proofing level. This will depend on the risk of incorrectly verifying you and the impact of providing that service to the wrong person.

It is recommended to provide the minimum amount of identity proof required for the online government service that you wish to use.

More information on identity proofing levels used by the Australian Government can be found by visiting the Australian Government site on digital identity proofing levels.

No. Your digital identity is you online. It is what enables a government service to know that it is you who they are transacting with and is therefore highly personal.

Your digital identity is associated with the account (your login and password/passphrase) that you used to create your digital identity.

This account and your digital identity cannot be shared. Please do not share or enable another person to use this account or your identity online.

Should you have concerns or questions that may be related to the use of an online government service, you can contact the government agency which supports that service you are trying to access.

To read more about digital identity, the Australian Government provides detailed information on their help pages which can be found at Support | Digital Identity.