Would Australia Card II be any better than Australia Card I?

He told the 25th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners last year that new technologies offer great potential "to ensure that authentication challenges can be met at the same time as maintaining, or even enhancing, the dignity and privacy of individuals".

There have been suggestions in recent months that the new Medicare SmartCard associated with the Commonwealth HealthConnect program could be an Australia Card by stealth, because it includes an embedded microchip with a range of functionality, including the ability to store health data and a unique patient identification (UPI) number. It is essential that all potential uses for this number are defined and made public, including what type of data can be linked to the card, who will have access and how it can be used.

The intense opposition to the original Australia Card proposal was partly the result of concern about function creep, because of a lack of detailed definition over the storage and use of personal data. If there is any suggestion of a national ID system being introduced in Australia, it must be debated vigorously in the public arena before any decisions are made. I believe that ICT professionals must figure prominently in any such discussion, since it will fall to us to design and administer the databases, and biometrics recording and reporting systems, associated with such a scheme.

I would rather see any money that might be used for a national ID program invested in developing systems that actually track identity fraud and bring criminals to justice without imposing unnecessary burdens on business and the community.