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The Identity Verification Services compare the personal information on your identity document against existing government records, such as passports, driver licences and birth certificates.

The services are provided through secure online systems that operate 24 hours a day over 7 days a week.

The Identity Verification Services Act 2023 (Cth) provides a legislative basis for the operation of the identity matching services, including the Document Verification Service and the Face Verification Service.

The services are provided through a partnership between the Australian Government and state and territory governments under the 2017 Intergovernmental Agreement on Identity Matching Services.

Systems we operate

The Identity Verification Services use ‘hubs’ which are technical systems that act as routers to securely transmit matching requests between the organisation using the service and the agency which holds your information used on your identity document.

These hubs do not store or retain your identity information. They only retain transactional data for a limited period for auditing purposes.

Document Verification Service (DVS)

The Document Verification Service checks whether the biographic information on your identity document matches the original record. The result will simply be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The Document Verification Service does not check facial images.

The Document Verification Service makes it harder for people to use fake identity documents.

The Document Verification Service has been operational since 2009. Both the public and private sector use the Document Verification Service.

The Document Verification Service accesses driver licence information from the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS). This is a separate system operated by Austroads Limited on behalf of all states and territories.

Face Verification Service (FVS)

The Face Verification Service compares your photo against the image used on your identity documents with your consent. The Face Verification Service:

makes access to government services more convenient for customers by avoiding the need to attend a shopfront
provides strong privacy, security and oversight to online biometric identity verification
helps prevent identity theft by detecting fraudulent documents that use stolen identity information.

The Face Verification Service is only used by Australian Government agencies.

In the future, local government, state and territory governments and private sector organisations will use the Face Verification Service subject to Participation Agreements that outline strong privacy, security and oversight requirements for them to access the services, including provision of the expressed consent from individuals.

National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution

To support identity verification, state and territory road agencies will gradually provide copies of driver licence photos and related identity information to the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution.

The Attorney-General’s Department manages this system on behalf of all states and territories. The National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution centrally stores biometric templates created from facial images provided by states and territories. Each road agency retains complete control over the facial images and other identity information associated with their driver licences.

Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia have provided data into the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution with other states and territories to follow.

Find out more about how the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution handles on your information on our For individuals page.

	Document Verification Service	Face Verification Service
address details from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)	Yes	No
Aviation and Maritime security identification cards	Yes	No
birth certificates	Yes	No
Centrelink concession cards	Yes	No
certificates of registration by descent	Yes	No
change of name certificates	Yes	No
citizenship certificates	Yes	Yes
death certificates	Yes	No
driver licences	Yes	Yes
ImmiCards	Yes	No
marriage certificates	Yes	No
Medicare cards	Yes	No
passports	Yes	Yes
visas	Yes	Yes

To see the availability of the Document Verification Service documents in real time, please go to the DVS Availability Dashboard

Where data is stored

To protect the original record, the government agency that issued an identity document will continue to store information in its own secure system.

In most cases, the Identity Verification Services access information directly from these systems. The exception is driver licence information (see below).

States and territories provide the Australian Government with a copy of driver licence information as part of the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution (NDLFRS). This is done under the authority of state and territory laws that permit this type of information sharing.

The National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution is now under construction with Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia the first states to provide their data.

The Attorney-General’s Department house the National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution in a data centre located in Canberra and certified under the Australian Government’s protective security requirements.

The National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution is not yet operational.

All Identity Verification Services requests and responses are transmitted in an encrypted format. As the operator of the Identity Verification Services, the Attorney-General’s Department cannot view, edit or modify this information, or track an individual's use of the services.

Who can use the Identity Verification Services?

Approved organisations in Australia and New Zealand can use the Document Verification Service (DVS), while only approved Australian organisations can access the Face Verification Service (FVS). Use of the services must be reasonable, necessary and proportionate to a user’s functions or activities.

The Document Verification Service is currently used by more than 2,600 government and private sector organisations.

The Face Verification Service is only used by Australian Government agencies.