Senators move to repeal new Digital ID laws

A group of Senators are pushing to repeal Australia’s new Digital ID laws over concerns that the voluntary identity framework will become mandatory, which would pose a threat to human rights.

A bill tabled in Parliament by Liberal Senator Alex Antic proposes to repeal two Digital ID Acts which were legislated last month, and to reverse amendments to several other related Acts which were pushed through at the same time.

The Digital ID Repeal Bill 2024 is sponsored by five other Senators including the Liberal Party’s Matt Canavan and Gerard Rennick, One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, and United Australia Party’s Ralph Babet.

In May of this year, the Digital ID Bill 2024 passed in the House of Representatives and was signed into law, green-lighting the expansion of the Australian Government’s Digital ID system. Controversially, the Senate did not get to debate the bill before it was passed.

The government assures that the expanded Digital ID framework will be voluntary, however in a statement today, Senator Antic expressed strong doubts.

“Its practical operation and the exceptions provided to Digital ID being voluntary will result in a Digital ID system that is, for all intents and purposes, mandatory if Australians wish to participate in society,” said Senator Antic.

“It has the capacity to create a society where Australians are controlled through their digital identity and must be repealed.”

A memorandum states that the bill “advances the protection of human rights by ensuring that Australians are not forced to participate in centralised control of their identification information in order to participate in basic domestic and professional settings.”

Senator Babet echoed the human rights concerns in a statement.

“This bill could be a precursor to a social credit type system. A future government may decide that you or your beliefs are unacceptable, the Digital ID gives them the tool necessary to make you persona non-grata,” he said.

Australian Government figures show that the federal Digital ID system, myGovID, is already used by 10.5 million Australians to access more than 130 government services. Australians can sign up for Digital ID with documents such as a visa, driver licence or Medicare card. Biometric data from a selfie photo can be uploaded to create a stronger Digital ID, after which the government states that the photo will be deleted.

The recently passed Digital ID legislation is intended to expand this existing framework. This will include centralising access to federal, state and territory government services, streamlining identity verification for citizens, and improving accreditation schemes for service providers.

However, challenges to Digital ID systems include identity theft, data breaches, privacy concerns, variations in digital literacy, and the need for public trust.

While governments wishing to bring or expand Digital ID systems want to focus on the benefits and characterise concerns as ‘conspiracy theories,’ there are accumulating case studies of such systems being exploited by governments and tech-savvy opportunists.

Provisions exist in the new Digital ID legislation for exemptions to the voluntary scheme – exemptions so wide that “a truck can and will be driven through,” said Libertarian Senate candidate for Victoria, Jordan Dittloff.

Over 125,000 Australians have signed Senator Antic’s petition to “scrap the ‘Digital Identity’ power grab”.

Senator Antic said he looks forward to debating the bill in the Senate at a future date.

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