The New South Wales (NSW) government’s digital birth certificate (DBC) will be trialled by Vision Australia and selected early childhood education centres, as announced by Victor Dominello, the Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government. The DBC is one of Dominello’s last major announcements before retiring at the March 25 state election.
The NSW government has been workingaus on the DBC for some time now. In 2021, the Births Deaths and Marriages delivered a proof-of-concept, and in November of that year, an RFP was issued for a vendor to write the software.
Dominello has also mentioned plans for trials of digital first aid certificates later in the year. He emphasized the significance of the DBC, stating that if done right, it could be a platform for many other applications that could minimize the friction experienced by people when they move or work between states and territories.
The DBC is aimed at providing a secure and easily accessible digital alternative to the traditional paper-based birth certificate. The NSW government hopes that the DBC will streamline processes for families, businesses, and government agencies, making it easier to verify a person’s identity and access services.
The trial with Vision Australia and early childhood education centres will test the effectiveness of the DBC and identify any potential issues that may need to be addressed before it is made more widely available.