Published on the 21/11/2025 | Written by Heather Wright

Charting a path to digital identity…

Australia and New Zealand are making inroads toward a digital identity future, with Australia racing ahead with mobile digital driver’s licenses and decentralised ID systems, while New Zealand takes its own path with a digital Kiwi Access Card for hospitality age checks and plans for a national digital identity system.

The Kiwi hospitality card comes courtesy of a partnership between NEC and Hospitality New Zealand, who are working to create a digital version of the Kiwi Access Card – previously the 18+ Card. It will allow age verification via smartphone and biometric checks, promising faster, safer verification, and helping businesses more easily meet their obligations.

“This business-friendly initiative will make it easier for company directors to prove their identity and authority.”

NEC will ‘support’ Hospitality New Zealand through accreditation under the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework to ensure the digital Kiwi Access Credential meets New Zealand standards.

The move follows a call from New Zealand Digitising Government and Public Service Minister Judith Collins for public and private sectors to ‘move from discussion to delivery’ in creating a trusted digital identity ecosystem. Collins has been vocal about accelerating digital identity adoption, arguing that secure, user-controlled credentials will reduce friction for businesses and citizens alike.

This week Collins confirmed New Zealand tech company Mattr is building a new platform to make it easier for Government agencies to issue secure digital credentials.

The platform will be a shared service for government agencies, managed by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). It will enable agencies such as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and DIA to issue digital credentials into a government app which is also under development.

MBIE will be among the first to trial the platform, issuing New Zealand Business Number digital credentials to company directors. “This business-friendly initiative will make it easier for company directors to prove their identity and authority when interacting with government and private sector services,” Collins says.

She says building a single platform will reduce costs across the public sector and ensure all agencies meet the same high standards for privacy and security, while reducing paperwork and back-office administration.

“This shared approach means government agencies can deliver better value for money and a faster, more consistent experience for everyone.”

Dave Clark NZ was selected earlier this year to build the core government app, with Mattr providing the digital wallet technology to underpin the app’s credential and wallet features. The initial build, with ‘basic functionality’ is due to be released before the end of this year. Once live the app will provide a secure way for agencies to communicate with people, while also providing a safe digital wallet to hold accredited digital credentials from both the government agencies and accredited private sector providers. It will also offer a direct way to access government services and make payments.

The timing for New Zealand is significant. Just this month, the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework rules were finalised. Now in effect, it sets out how accredited digital identity services, must operate. The framework covers privacy, security, security and compliance requirements for providers offering services such as digital driver licenses, bank ID and trade certifications. Collins says it ensures people can choose what information they share and with whom, bypassing the need to turn up in person or provide scanned copies of sensitive documents.

Mattr was also the developer for the NZ Verify app, launched earlier this year and which supports international digital driver licenses.

The platform and app plans have already sparked alarm from civil liberties groups who say a national digital identity system risks eroding personal freedoms and creating an ‘illusion of choice’. While Collins has maintained that the system will remain optional, critics argue that presenting the app as the fastest and easiest way to access services could effectively make it mandatory.

Adding to the complexity, New Zealand’s Biometric Processing Privacy Code came into force this month, introducing the country’s first dedicated privacy rules for biometric technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint scanning and voice identification.

It introduces stricter requirements for organisations using biometrics, like the Kiwi Access Credential.

“The Code, which is now law made under the Privacy Act, will help make sure agencies implementing biometric technologies are doing it safely and in a way that is proportionate,” the Privacy Commissioner says.

Australia’s fast lane

Across the ditch, Australian states and territories are rolling out digital driver licences – or mobile driver licences (mDL) – based on ISO/IEC 18013-5 and -7 standards, which all state and territory governments agreed last year to adopt.

Tasmania is the latest to make moves towards a mDL with Budget funding allocated to develop a business case for implementing the offering.

It joins a growing list of states embracing digital credentials, with South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland – which is currently the only state with an ISO-compliant digital credential –  and Victoria already having active mDLs, and the Northern Territory planning to launch pilots by the end of this year. It allocated almost AU$21 million last year for its scheme, with the full rollout expected in 2026.

New South Wales has led the charge, investing more than AU$62 million last year to transition to an online licensing and compliance system. The funding was expected to add an additional 80 licenses to the Licence NSW system, which will host most of the state’s regulatory permits, from driver’s licenses and ID cards to industry licenses.

The Australia Capital Territory, meanwhile, is taking a more cautious approach, holding off on a digital driver’s license rollout until a national standard for interoperability is agreed.

ACT Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says ACT wants to avoid investing in a ‘Beta video recorder just as we realise the rest of the world is moving to VHS as the standard’.

Globally the European Union is rolling out its Digital Identity Wallet, with pilots in banking and travel expected to go live in 2026. Estonia is traditionally held up as the gold standard, with a universal digital ID featuring cryptographic ID cards which serve as the foundation for all digital services. In use for 20 years, the e-ID is mandatory for accessing government services and widely accepted in the private sector and includes a chip-based ID card, SIM-based mobile ID and app-based Smart-ID authentication.