DRAFT ANALYSIS of the Photo Card Bill 2004 – for letter to Costa, asking for answers to these questions

February 2005 Review of the Photo Card Bill 2004 Introduction – what this document is for This paper sets out the Australian Privacy Foundation’s analysis of the Photo Card Bill 2004 (NSW), including the features of most concern in terms of risks to individual privacy and overall security. An appendix to this paper also sets out a number of questions we have about the Bill, for which we seek answers from the Minister for Roads, the Hon Michael Costa MLC. Overview of our concerns We do not disagree with the Government’s legitimate objective of assisting those members of the community who face some difficulty in life without one of the more common forms of photo ID, such as drivers’ licences. However we do not believe the model proposed in the Photo Card Bill will achieve those objectives. Furthermore the Bill, in its current form, poses not only privacy risks for individual Photo Card holders (and people who hold a driver’s licence), but security and corruption risks for the RTA, as well as possibly hampering law enforcement efforts to tackle identity theft and fraud. This is because the Bill introduces a centralised identity management system. The good news is that there are other options, which are outlined below. Identity cards: what’s in a name? Photo Card or identity card? Whatever you call it, the card proposed in the Bill (a Photo Card), is intended to work as an identity card. The Explanatory Notes to the ...