Australians will soon be able to sign up for a national digital identity solution known as the Govpass program, touted by the federal government as making it easier for people to prove who they are when using government services.

The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) outlined the process for applying for a Govpass[1] in October, with the system expected to match a user's photograph, as well as Medicare, driver's licence, and birth certificate details, with information already held by various government entities.

After DTA CDO Peter Alexander revealed during Senate Estimates last month that the Govpass solution is currently non-existent[2], his agency is now getting the ball rolling, publishing a request for tender (RFT) overnight seeking a provider to deliver a "liveness capture" solution.

The DTA is seeking a digital credential and identity proofing solution that enables users to enrol and authenticate who they are with a "high level of confidence" through a biometrics tool that matches the person at the end of a camera to their government-issued identification, such as driver's licence and passport.

"Once proof of identity has been established, the client can use their credential to access to government services on any device using fingerprint or password," the RFT explains.

The liveness capture tool is required to work across mobile, tablet, and PC, and must possess the capability to prevent the creation of fraudulent identities.

As requested in the RFT, the software component will enable a person to capture an image of their face and include quality assurance functions such as notifying the user where image conditions are unsuitable for capture due to lighting, background, or other conditions; provide feedback to the user on pose, angle, facial expression, and other basic quality standards; and automatically crop the

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