Most of us already have online identities -- online banking is now an everyday part of life. The 100 points of ID you used to set up your account have given you a digital identity to use every time you do an online transaction.

The ambition of the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)  is to provide the choice to create and use a digital identity so you don’t always have to go into a shop front to prove who you are.

In the latest Data Tech Talk, Peter Alexander, Chief Digital Officer at the DTA  spoke with Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor MP  about how a digital identity could make life easier, cut down on logins and passwords and help us access the services we need more quickly.

The DTA has been consulting with government agencies, industry groups and privacy advocates for 18 months as they built a working prototype. Feedback from these groups is also being sought on the policy framework which outlines the rules and standards for how a digital identity would work, remain simple and secure, and enhance privacy rather than just protect it. 

The prototype is being tested with a small group of people before broader testing next year and the Digital Transformation Agency has released a demonstration of how the process will establish your identity online.

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Professor Fiona Stanley with Assistant Minister Angus Taylor

Peter Norvig of Google with Assistant Minister Angus Taylor