Digital ID: The Next Frontier for Australian Legal
Every property settlement in Australia still asks the same question over and over again: who are you, and can you prove it? I was reminded of just how repetitive that process has become during a recent conversation for InfoTrack’s InFocus series with the Honourable Victor Dominello, the former New South Wales Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, and the architect behind Service NSW. We spoke about digital identity, and what struck me most was not the technology itself, but how far behind identity verification has fallen compared to everything else the property sector has already achieved.
Consider how much has changed in conveyancing over the past decade. Certificates of title have been abolished. Settlements that once relied on physical cheques and paper deeds now happen electronically, in minutes rather than days. Lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents and financial institutions have collectively delivered one of the most significant transformations any Australian industry has undertaken. Yet identity verification, the very first step in almost every property transaction, still largely relies on the same methods used decades ago: a photocopy of a driver’s licence or a scanned passport, sent by email or handed over in person for every party, every time.
This is not a criticism of the profession. If anything, it is the opposite. The property sector has already proven it can absorb complex, high-stakes reform and come out the other side more efficient and more secure. eConveyancing was not a simple change to implement, and yet it happened, and practitioners adapted. That track record is exactly why digital identity is a natural next step, not another burden to manage.
The problem with the current approach to identity is not that it fails. It exposes far more than it needs. Every time a certified copy of a licence or passport changes hands, it carries every attribute on that document, not just the single fact that matters for the transaction. A birth certificate handed over to prove a child’s identity also discloses the identity attributes of the parents. A driver’s licence shown to verify age discloses an address, a signature and a date of birth that has no bearing on the transaction taking place.
Digital identity works differently. Rather than sharing the underlying document, it allows a verified attestation, a confirmation that a fact is true, without disclosing the supporting detail behind it. For conveyancers and property lawyers, that distinction matters more than it might first appear. It is not simply about convenience. It is about reducing the volume of sensitive personal information circulating across email inboxes and file servers, where settlement fraud and identity-related scams tend to find their opening.
What became clear across the conversation with Victor is that the sectors best placed to adopt digital identity well are those that have already demonstrated discipline around reform, security and compliance. Property and legal services sit squarely in that category. Practitioners in this space are accustomed to regulatory rigour, protecting client information and adapting workflows without compromising accuracy. Those are the exact conditions that make an identity layer easier to introduce, rather than harder.
There is also a broader point. As artificial intelligence makes convincing deepfakes more accessible, the reliability of a single static document as proof of identity weakens, not strengthens. A photocopy of a licence cannot adapt to a more sophisticated threat environment. A properly designed digital identity framework can, because it adds layers of verification as risks evolve, rather than remaining fixed in the same form indefinitely.
We covered much more ground in this conversation than there is room for here, including how identity intersects with payments, how regulators should think about oversight and where Victor believes Australia could realistically be in five years. For anyone working in property, conveyancing or legal services who wants to think seriously about where identity verification is heading, it is a conversation worth hearing in full.
Watch the full conversation with Victor Dominello on demand as part of InfoTrack’s InFocus series.
About InfoTrack
InfoTrack integrates workflow automation, regulatory compliance, AI-driven intelligence and Australia’s most trusted data sources into one single, premium platform. Designed with compliance at its core, the platform enables law firms, conveyancers, real estate professionals and financial institutions to manage governance, risk, client due diligence and reporting efficiently. With intelligent workflows, built-in safeguards and adaptable processes, InfoTrack empowers teams to focus on business objectives while staying aligned with evolving regulatory requirements and delivering informed, reliable outcomes for clients.
By Jerome Boutelet
Executive Head of Government Relations and Industry Affairs
