Sharing your personal information and proving your qualifications and credentials safely can be time-consuming, but in today's digital era, it should only take seconds.
NSW Digital Wallet will offer an easier way to securely prove your identity, share information and use your qualifications and credentials digitally.
We are co-designing our digital wallet, which will be available within the Service NSW app on your smartphone, with platform provider Mattr. The initial focus of this leading solution is putting the essential security and privacy building blocks in place. By using cutting-edge technology, the NSW Digital Wallet will allow you to securely access and share digital credentials such as your First Aid Certificate and Working with Children Check renewal.
What is a digital wallet?
A digital wallet is an electronic way to store, use and share your credentials with government and commercial organisations. A credential is a qualification or achievement which proves your eligibility to do something. For example, a first aid certificate proves a person is up to date with their first aid training. Other examples include permits, memberships and certificates.
Digital versions of these credentials will be encrypted and will sit within your SNSW app on your mobile device as part of the NSW Digital Wallet.
Why use a digital wallet?
A digital wallet offers an easier way to confidently and conveniently prove what you are entitled to through digital authentication. You will have the choice to share your credentials and personal details with the government and registered businesses while remaining in complete control of your information. People who use the digital wallet will also have a record of what credential, or information from a credential, they chose to share including with whom and when. They will also have the ability to renew, add, retract, or remove credentials.
Let's say you are applying to become a surf lifesaver and need to prove you have the right qualifications for the job. No more rummaging through scans and printed documents to prove your certification. When accessing your digital wallet, you will instantly view your first aid certificate and be able to share only the relevant required information with your potential employer, if and when you choose.
Is it secure?
New technologies such as digital signatures will help to make your credentials tamper-proof. To better ensure cyber safety, these credentials will not be centrally held by the NSW Government or businesses. You will always have complete control over what personal data is shared.
Using NSW Digital Wallet to help you manage your credentials will be your decision. You will always be in control. Whether you set up a digital identity and then what you share, how you share it, and who you share it with, will always be your choice. Your details will not be viewed or shared by anyone else without your consent - including government organisations and businesses - helping to keep your identity and credentials protected from potential misuse.
The NSW Department of Customer Service regularly reviews and monitors the safety of its online services. To ensure people are protected we are developing policies and legislation that are relevant to the evolving digital landscape. This will provide comprehensive and strong privacy-preserving protections to the people of NSW.
What about the physical versions of my documents?
People will always have the choice to use their physical identity documents, which will continue to be issued. The digital wallet ecosystem will not replace these, but it will remove the inconvenience of sharing scans and copies of your documents and cards when proving what you are entitled to.
Using the credentials stored in your NSW Digital Wallet will also prevent oversharing of personal information. It will give you greater control over how your personal information is stored and shared.
We are excited about this step in the NSW Digital Wallet journey and to be providing safe and convenient services to the people of NSW.
