The Australian state of Victoria has launched a digital birth certificate trial that quietly links newborns to the nation’s expanding digital identity framework. Framed as a simple paperwork fix for kindergarten enrollment, the program converts a child’s birth certificate into an app-based credential stored in a government wallet. Parents are told this is about convenience—fewer forms, faster verification—but the reality is more consequential. For the first time, a legal identity is being digitally anchored to a national system at birth, long before the individual can consent or even comprehend what that means.

The pilot runs through Service Victoria, requiring parents to already possess a verified digital identity themselves. Once issued, the child’s birth certificate becomes more than a document; it becomes infrastructure. These credentials are designed to reduce “friction” across services, but that friction is often the last barrier protecting privacy. As Australia’s federal Digital ID legislation settles into place, state-level systems like Victoria’s are being positioned to interoperate nationally—creating persistent identity links that may eventually extend across education, healthcare, finance, and beyond. The wallet may sit on a phone, but the data—and its future uses—remain firmly in government hands.

SOURCE: PS News