The long queues of international travellers waiting for immigration clearance at Australian airports may soon become a thing of past with new changes in the way passports are used coming into effect later this month.
With an amendment to the Migration law taking effect on 17th November, travellers won’t be required to present their physical passports to establish their identity, if their details are already held electronically.
Currently, an image of the traveller’s face and shoulders is compared with the image and details in the physical passport to establish identity, citizenship and visa status of the passport holder.
The government is hoping this will ease the “inefficient burden” of presenting the physical document which, in turn, will lead to quicker clearing of travellers in increasingly busy airports and ports.
The passport-less processing will use SmartGate or similar biometrics systems, already being trialled at some Australian airports that use facial recognition technology.
The technology will also be used to process travellers who hold passports of other countries after their details have been obtained when the person travels to Australia the first time using their passport.
Source: Supplied/Department of Home Affairs
The rollout of this new technology, however, does not mean that you can leave your passport at home.
The physical passport will still be required in some circumstances, for example, if the identity or visa status cannot be verified or in case of other issues, such as security reasons. The physical passport will also be required at airports that have not rolled out the new technology and in circumstances where travellers are processed manually.
The change is being introduced by way of an amendment to the Migration Regulations.
“The amendments will provide greater efficiency and security at the relevant ports, and give effect to the digital transformation agenda, by allowing reliance on existing digital information rather than requiring presentation of a physical document,” Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, David Coleman said in the explanatory statement.
Concerns over privacy
While the use of this technology will be voluntary and travellers will be free to choose manual processing by a clearance officer and can choose to present the physical documentation, there are concerns around privacy in relation to the rollout of the technology.
In a submission made in May this year to a parliamentary committee, the Human Rights Law Centre registered four “salient” concerns over facial recognition technology.
People inside Terminal 2 at the Airport at Sydney Airport in Sydney Source: AAP Image/David Moir
The HRLC said the Government’s ability to link and share personal information will lead to a “very substantial erosion of privacy”.
The Government says the collection, use and disclosure of personal information is undertaken in accordance with the law.
It says the ability to accurately collect, store, use and disclose biometric identification of all persons increases the integrity of identity, security, and immigration checks of people entering and departing Australia.
“Contactless Processing will not take more information from the person than is reasonably necessary to achieve the legitimate objective of confirming the person’s identity,” the explanatory statement reads.
