What states or territories in Australia have implemented the Digital ID by December 2025?
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Executive summary
By December 2025 Australia had launched a national Digital ID framework under the Digital ID Act 2024 and the Australian Government Digital ID System (AGDIS) had 15 million created Digital IDs and supported 246 government services, with 80 million ID-verified transactions in the prior year [1]. Western Australia is explicitly named as the first jurisdiction to enable driver licences to create a Strong Digital ID (IP3) by December 2025 [1]. Available sources do not provide a full state-by-state list beyond that specific Western Australia note and national implementation milestones [1] [2] [3].
1. National rollout, not a patchwork: Canberra set the rules
The Digital ID program is a national system established by the Digital ID Act 2024 and overseen by Commonwealth agencies; the Department of Finance describes AGDIS as a national, economy‑wide Digital ID System intended to be voluntary and used across government services [2] [3]. The Act created an accreditation scheme and named the ACCC as regulator and the OAIC with expanded privacy oversight, signalling federal control rather than a purely state-by-state approach [2]. The system’s metrics — 15 million Digital IDs and 246 online government services by December 4, 2025 — indicate a centrally coordinated national deployment rather than isolated state pilots [1].
2. Western Australia: first to enable driver‑licence based Strong Digital ID
Department of Finance reporting singles out Western Australia as the first jurisdiction to enable the use of driver licences to create a Strong Digital ID (IP3), a capability that previously required a passport [1]. That is the clearest, state‑level implementation detail in official reporting: WA has moved to let residents use their driver licence for higher‑strength Digital ID creation by late 2025 [1].
3. Other states and territories: official reporting is silent on specifics
Official sources and the Digital ID System news summary detail national uptake and technical rule updates but do not list which other states or territories had enabled particular document types (for example, licences) for Strong Digital ID by December 2025 [1] [3]. Legal and industry commentary anticipates broader rollouts and pilots [4], but a comprehensive state-by-state roster is not published in the materials supplied here: available sources do not mention specific additional states or territories adopting driver‑licence‑based Strong Digital ID by that date [1] [4].
4. Timelines and scope: voluntary system with accelerating uptake
The Digital ID Act commenced in late 2024 and the government expected staged expansion through 2025 and beyond; private sector participation was slated to open by December 2026 while AGDIS expanded government service connections in 2025 [2] [1]. Department of Finance updates show rapid growth — 80 million verified transactions in the last year and 15 million Digital IDs created — indicating rapid national adoption of the voluntary system rather than mandatory state programs [5] [1].
5. Why state‑level detail matters — and why it’s missing
State and territory governments control many identity documents (driver licences, for example), so their choices determine how residents can create and upgrade Digital IDs. The Department of Finance highlights WA’s change because it is a concrete jurisdictional step [1]. However, federal reporting focuses on aggregate system metrics and rules; jurisdictional rollouts beyond WA are either not yet finalised or not publicised in these sources, leaving a gap between national policy and on‑the‑ground local implementation [2] [3].
6. Related policy changes that complicate the picture
Parallel online‑safety rules requiring age verification for social media and search engines — coming into effect in December 2025 — have driven urgency around identity‑verification tools and may push jurisdictions and platforms to accelerate Digital ID use for age assurance [6] [7]. Reporting notes that identity checks using licences will apply to logged‑in search accounts and social platforms under industry codes and the Online Safety Act amendments, but those rules describe obligations for platforms rather than naming which states enabled specific Digital ID inputs [6] [7].
7. How to get definitive, state‑by‑state confirmation
To produce a definitive list, consult: (a) each state/territory transport or motor vehicle agency for announcements about using their licences in AGDIS; (b) the Department of Finance digital ID guidance and accreditation registers for dates of capability changes; and (c) AGDIS participant lists showing accredited identity providers and the documents they accept — none of which are enumerated in the supplied sources [2] [3] [8]. Available sources do not mention a published, comprehensive state‑by‑state table as of December 2025 [1] [3].
Limitations: This analysis uses only the supplied documents. They confirm national rollout metrics and a specific Western Australia milestone but do not publish a full state/territory adoption roster by December 2025 [1] [2] [3].