Meeting in Canberra on 16 September, Commonwealth, state and territory Data and Digital Ministers endorsed the updated National Digital ID and Verifiable Credentials Strategy. The blueprint commits governments to mutual recognition of digital identity wallets by 2028 and confirms that the existing Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) will fully replace the paper Incoming Passenger Card by mid-2027. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the framework will “let Australians and visitors prove who they are once and reuse those credentials everywhere from bank branches to automated passport gates”. The strategy outlines pilots in partnership with Qantas and Virgin Australia where frequent-flyer digital IDs will sync with government-issued credentials, enabling bag-drop-to-boarding biometric journeys at Brisbane and Perth airports from early 2027. For corporate mobility teams, the shift promises faster transits and lower document-handling costs. Deloitte estimates that international assignees currently spend an average 1.2 hours per trip filling arrival cards and manual declarations; full digitisation could cut that to 15 minutes. The government will open an accreditation sandbox in November so that multinational HR platforms can test API connections for automated visa checks. Privacy advocates welcomed explicit commitments to decentralised storage and “no single identifier” principles. However, the Law Council warned that harmonising state and federal privacy laws remains unfinished business and could delay large-scale rollout. The ministers also agreed to explore reciprocal recognition of trusted digital identities with New Zealand and Singapore—potentially laying groundwork for a trans-Tasman “express aisle” for business travellers within the decade.
Source: Department of Finance
