THE identity of Australians could be subjected to unprecedented scrutiny under the biggest security protection plan since the failed Australia Card. Federal cabinet will soon see a proposal for a national "document verification service" designed to combat identity-related crimes ranging from welfare fraud to terrorism. It would give federal and state government agencies and key businesses the right to verify the identity of clients by cross-checking birth certificates, drivers' licences and passports through a central data exchange hub. The Attorney-General's Department is finalising the proposal for the online system. Airlines, banks and other businesses vulnerable to welfare fraud or terrorism are keen to be part of the project. The introduction of new-generation passports - with so-called biometric data including fingerprints or facial features - means the system could have extraordinary reach over the coming years. The scheme has the same identification security goals as the Hawke government's politically unpalatable Australia Card proposal in 1987. But unlike the previous proposal, the Government is opposing a single number to identify every Australian. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Government had misgivings about any national identity regime based on a single identifier and was instead looking at the technical and legal implications of setting up a document verification service.
Mr Ruddock said the Government believed its DVS proposal would be more effective than an Australia Card-like single number identifier. "The initial feasibility work (on the DVS) has been completed and the participating agencies are at the point where further proposals are being developed for government, including a proof-of-concept trial," he said. But Australian Privacy Foundation chairwoman Anna Johnston said while the absence of a single number was welcome, advances in computer technology since 1987 raised serious concerns. Ms Johnston said the public would reject any plan to relax privacy legislation to allow for the identity regime, warning that improvements in computer technology meant legislative protection was more important than ever. She called for an independent privacy impact assessment before any pilot. "When the Privacy Act was first drafted in the eighties, technology was in a very different state," Ms Johnston said. "You can't rely on the inefficiencies of collating data to protect people anymore - you have to rely on privacy law." The verification system proposal is expected to be put to cabinet within months.