Australian Payments Plus (AP+) has today welcomed the release of the Australian government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial report, which confirms that age assurance can be delivered in Australia in a way that is private, efficient and effective.
The independent trial evaluated a wide range of technologies to assess how age assurance can be delivered securely and at scale. As part of the trial, ConnectID, the digital identity solution developed by AP+, was assessed at the highest level of technology readiness level (TRL 9), in part due to its existing use as an age verification solution and demonstrating its deployment readiness in Australia.
“Verifying age online has often meant trade-offs between accuracy, safety, and privacy. When considering how we implement age verification, it's important we don’t introduce new privacy risks for young Australians,” said Andrew Black, Managing Director of ConnectID.
“Many Australians are already reluctant to share their data online in light of growing cyber breaches, and adding to these concerns, users worry that social media companies will now request and store copies of their identity documents,” he added.
“By initially working through Australia’s four major banks, ConnectID offers broad citizen coverage and allows people to confirm only what’s needed – such as whether they’re over 16 – without handing over sensitive personal data.”
The trial formed part of the government’s work to assess practical technologies for age assurance in a range of sectors, including a focus for enforcing the upcoming social media ban for under-16s.
How ConnectID works
ConnectID is an Australian-owned digital identity solution developed by AP+, and was the first non-government identity exchange to be accredited by the Australian government.
When a business requests age verification from their customer, ConnectID allows that user to choose a trusted entity – such as their bank – that already holds their verified identity to confirm just the necessary information. For example, the bank can confirm whether the user is over the required age, returning a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response without needing to share date of birth with either the business collecting nor ConnectID.
ConnectID is already being used to verify age across multiple sectors, including alcohol and knife purchases, and soon for online gaming platforms. Beyond age checks, ConnectID also supports identity verification for services like rental applications, enabling people to confirm their identity without handing over physical copies of sensitive documents.
The report’s key findings on ConnectID
- Proven model: ConnectID relies on banks’ KYC-verified customer data, which is able to return only the necessary age assertion (e.g. “over 16”), without revealing sensitive personal details such as a date of birth
- Privacy and security: The peer-to-peer exchange model ensures that sensitive information is never seen or stored by ConnectID and remains with regulated institutions
- Ease of use: Users are redirected to their existing banking app or portal to authenticate and provide consent, ensuring a simple, trusted experience
- Real-world applications: The technology has already been deployed for existing use cases, including alcohol and knife purchases as well as telco SIM card activation
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