Minister announces accreditation of first private digital identity provider

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OCR Labs has been named as one of Australia’s first ‘entirely private’ accredited digital identity service providers.

Stuart Robert, minister for employment, workforce, skills, small and family business, announced that the Australian-based business was the first to be accredited through the government’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF).

The framework sets the standards, rules and guidelines for digital identity services based on international best practice. To receive accreditation, organisations or agencies must undergo a series of assurance evaluations.

“It has become increasingly important in this digital age to be able to establish trust, particularly online,” Robert said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We want Australians to have confidence that their information is private and secure, regardless of who holds it.”

TDIF accreditation means that private sector clients of OCR Labs, operating in sectors like banking, finance and telecommunications, can trust that their intensity information can be verified and is protected, the minister added. 

OCR Labs sought accreditation as an ‘identity service provider’ under the new government framework in February this year. The company subsequently met 262 different framework requirements across protective security, privacy assurance, risk management, usability and accessibility measures. 

Robert noted that the accreditation process took four months to complete, and that OCR Labs was seeking to upgrade its TDIF accreditation by the end of the year.

“Digital identity underpins the government’s Digital Economy Strategy that will allow Australian businesses like OCR Labs, and in particular small business, to capitalise on the opportunities that digital technologies are creating, enabling them to grow and create jobs as part of Australia’s economic recovery,” Robert said. 

The DTIF is part of an $800 million digital business plan led by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).

The Australian government provider myGovID is the only identity provider operating within the federal Digital Identity System.