Digital Trust Service gets cross-jurisdictional backing

An international demonstration of a cross-jurisdictional digital ID service occurred in Sydney last week. Austroads has said that its new Digital Trust Service marks an important step towards national and international harmonisation of mobile driver's licence standards and verification.

For the first time, the Digital Trust Service would enable Australian jurisdictions to safely and securely verify credentials in line with international best practice (ISO-compliant).

On 21 June, states and territories, along with the Commonwealth, agreed that verifiable credentials requiring cross-border verification would be uniform across jurisdictions. The mobile driver’s licence will be the first application of these standards. Austroads has been collaborating with jurisdictions to ensure states and territories are ISO-ready, aiming to launch new mobile drivers’ licences in 2025 and 2026.

At the Identity and Verifiable Credentials Summit 2024 (IVC24) in Sydney last week, representatives from Europe, the United States and jurisdictional representatives from across Australia demonstrated how far this technology has come by joining together to walk through the US Department of Homeland Security’s CAT2 airport gate using their digital drivers licence. They symbolically boarded ‘Flight 18013’ to demonstrate the ease of identity and credential verification domestically and internationally.

The development of the Digital Trust Service has been led by Austroads with international leaders and domestic experts who have shaped global identity and verification credentials capabilities for Europe and North America. To support a cohesive rollout of mobile drivers licence across Australia, all government agencies across Australia have been working together to support the development of the Digital Trust Service.

Austroads, is the association of the Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, representing all levels of government. A longstanding authority in verifying drivers’ licences with decades of technology and data expertise, Austroads says it is uniquely placed to deliver the Digital Trust System, a world class solution that will safely and securely support driver licence verification across Australia’s jurisdictions.

Dr Geoff Allan, CEO Austroads, remarked that the delivery of the Digital Trust Service has set a new benchmark in cross jurisdictional collaboration, bringing about a nationwide solution that can safely, securely and reliably support the ecosystem of organisations that rely on drivers’ licences to verify driver status, age, and identity.

“It seeks to solve complex credential challenges. Currently states and territories do not use a common standard. Fragmentation between states leaves Australians more open to security and road safety risks,” he said. “The Digital Trust Service seeks to harmonise all digital drivers’ licences across Australia, ensuring that they can be verified regardless of the jurisdiction or location within Australia or New Zealand and even verified in North America and the European Union.”

Ian Grossman, President and CEO for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) said: “The Digital Trust Service brings together the experience and learnings of the equivalent systems in North America and Europe. It brings global best practices that support safety, security, inclusion, reliability, and interoperability. It has shown the power of collaboration on a global scale to deliver better outcomes domestically and internationally.”

“As one of the first jurisdictions in the world to develop a digital driver’s licence, the NSW Government is excited to be partnering with Austroads to develop the Digital Trust Service,” said John Graham, Minister for Roads, New South Wales. “This will ensure NSW continues to be a leading partner in international identity and credential verification.”