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over the past few years. disappointment about the current legislation is the lack of
• The establishment of a centralised “oversight authority” is creativity about data governance to determine how the system
an archaic approach that disempowers individuals from could be more safely implemented.
owning their personal information.
I’m not saying “don’t trust the government with your data”. What
Australians can’t simply disengage from digitisation. But rather I am saying is that the digital identity data should be regarded as
than blithely hand over our data, we should think carefully and critical national infrastructure, and protected as such by giving
collectively about the long-term effects of creating national, people the ability to own their identity.
centralised databases of sensitive personal information.
The broader context here is not one of legislation or technological
The digital infrastructure to own and control access to our own architecture. It is a social question of collectively defining what
digital identity already exists. Blockchain communities have a digital Australia should look like in the long term, and making
built it; it’s time we used it. it one that serves the public interest. Citizens should be able to
own and govern their personal information with confidence,
Hope for alternatives both now and into the future.
Senator Andrew Bragg last week tabled the final report of the
Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and
Financial Centre. It recommends Australia embrace technologies
such as blockchain and decentralised computing, in a bid to
become an international hub for financial technology. Written by: Kelsie Nabben
Researcher / PhD Candidate, RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub /
Despite this, there is still no apparent appetite to use this Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University
technology to encrypt the data stored by our domestic public
services. Contrast that with Estonia, an international leader in This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative
digitisation, which maintains an immutable blockchain-based Commons license. Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/
record of who in government has accessed medical health the-government-wants-to-expand-the-digital-identity-system-that-lets-
records. australians-access-services-there-are-many-potential-pitfalls-170550

Leaving aside the question of whether a digital identity
system is even necessary or desirable, perhaps the biggest

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