Governments around the world are steadily advancing their digital identity programs, presenting them as tools for convenience, security, and modernization across daily life.
Australia has now taken another step in that direction, trialing a new digital ID system in the rental sector while also preparing to introduce nationwide online age verification requirements by the end of this year.
Both systems rely on identity verification and could eventually become interconnected.
The new federal pilot will allow tenants to confirm their identity and financial information online rather than repeatedly providing hard copies of personal documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, or bank statements to multiple real estate agents.
Announced by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, the trial is intended to test whether digital ID technology can streamline rental applications while reducing the privacy and security risks that come with traditional document sharing.
Led by the Department of Finance and the Treasury, the project combines the government’s Digital ID system with the Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework.
PropertyMe, one of Australia’s largest property management software providers, will oversee the trial in partnership with ConnectID, developed by Australian Payments Plus, and Cuscal, a payments and data services company. Together, they aim to see how digital verification can simplify renting while offering stronger protection for personal data.
“Right now, renters are asked to upload anything from driver licenses and passports to bank statements and payslips, often to several platforms,” said Scott Shepherd, PropertyMe’s Chief Product Officer.
“Products and services now exist that enable us to reimagine that. Renters should be able to prove who they are and their ability to pay rent, without handing over additional information.”
REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh supported the pilot’s potential benefits, saying, “The pilot is a sensible reform that may help cut red tape for renters while strengthening data security and transparency in rental applications.”
With the upcoming rollout of age verification laws expected to require proof of identity to access certain online services, there is concern that Australia’s digital infrastructure could gradually merge into a single, far-reaching identity framework.
Such a system could allow both public and private entities to authenticate users across multiple sectors, raising questions about how much control individuals will retain over their data and who will have access to it.
Globally, similar moves are underway in countries such as the UK, Canada, the EU, Singapore, where governments are promoting digital identity systems as a way to verify citizens online.
The more these systems link together, the greater the risk of centralization, surveillance, and misuse of personal information.
If the rental pilot succeeds, it could mark the beginning of a broader digital identity framework spanning multiple aspects of daily life.
