Tremain Chris: Identity Information Confirmation Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Tremain Chris: Identity Information Confirmation Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 29 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4973. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CHRIS TREMAIN (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 I move  
That the Identity Information Confirmation Bill be now read a second time 
. Can I start by thanking the Hon Nathan Guy for introducing the Identity Information Confirmation Bill during his time as Minister of Internal Affairs. Can I also thank the Government Administration Committee for its consideration of the bill which goes back a year or so to the point when David Parker was the chair of that committee and can I thank him for that guidance through that period. Can I also thank the 13 submitters on the bill particularly the three who made oral submissions. 
This bill goes to the heart of one of the Government’s key priorities which is Better Public Services. In regard to that—in regard to Better Public Services—we have set 10 key result targets. One of these for which the Department of Internal Affairs is responsible is to enable New Zealanders to transact with Government agencies easily and in an online environment. This bill goes to the heart of that result. The two bills—the Identity Information Confirmation Bill and the Electronic Identity Verification Bill—enable Government departments businesses and other agencies to easily confirm the identity of the people they transact with. This will speed up transactions and reduce paperwork enabling individuals to obtain services more quickly and easily. 
The two bills are similar but different. Earlier this morning we considered the Electronic Identity Verification Bill. That bill regulates the use of the igovt Electronic Identity Verification Service to verify individuals’ identity over the internet when they are transacting directly with Government agencies or with businesses. The bill being debated now the Identity Information Confirmation Bill establishes an automated electronic service to be available for agencies and businesses and to confirm the accuracy of individuals’ identity information such as their name and date of birth. This service will confirm whether this information is consistent with the citizenship passports and births deaths and marriages information held by the Department of Internal Affairs. Individuals will need to provide their consent before their information is checked. This service can be used for a wide range of purposes including meeting new anti - money-laundering requirements. 
The select committee recommended amendments to the bill in response to some of the issues raised in submissions. The Government supports these amendments as they will improve the operation of the service. The bill originally envisaged each agency having a direct relationship with the service. However submitters indicated that it could be more convenient and cost-effective for some businesses to have another agency check identity information on their behalf. For instance a credit reporter could wish to check identity information on behalf of an appliance store that was about to enter into a hire purchase agreement with a customer. The bill now allows this to happen by committing intermediary agencies to use this service on behalf of other agencies. 
Using intermediaries can create additional privacy risks and the select committee has recommended that this bill provide some additional safeguards to mitigate those risks. Intermediaries will be able to check identity information only on behalf of agencies that the service has approved. Before approving an agency’s use of the service a number of factors must be considered. These include the agency’s practices relating to the security of information and the privacy of individuals. Intermediaries are prohibited from using or retaining the results of checks performed on behalf of other agencies although they can undertake separate checks for their own purposes. Agencies using an intermediary to undertake a check will be subject to a range of requirements that provide protection for members of the public as will those agencies that directly undertake a check for their own purpose. For example one of the important protections for members of the public is that agencies must obtain consent before this service can be used to check identity information. The bill also requires agencies to assure the service that consent has been given. In response to one submission the bill now requires that consent and the assurance of consent be provided in either written or electronic form. 
The service generally confirms only whether identity information is consistent or not with that recorded by the Department of Internal Affairs—in other words a yes or no response. However a check can result in some exception messages in situations where there is other specified information about an individual. This includes information that a person has registered a name change or has died. There will also be an exception message response when there is an issue with the status of a document that the individual has presented to an agency such as when a passport has been reported as lost or stolen. In these cases the bill previously required agencies to contact the service to find out which of these exceptions applied. The select committee recommended that this information be provided automatically by the service. So this will make the service more user-friendly and efficient for agencies which is a good thing and shows the benefit of that select committee process in addressing the initial bill and making substantive changes to improve its efficiency. 
Important protections for members of the public must be included in agreements between the service and the agency. Agreements must be entered into before identity information is checked. The select committee has clarified and improved a number of the protections that these agreements must contain. For instance they must now specify how members of the public can withdraw their consent for an agency to check their information if they decide to do so. The agreements with agencies can be developed by the service on a case by case basis. Agreements may also include standard terms and conditions designed to apply to certain classes of agencies such as banks. The Privacy Commissioner must be consulted on both kinds of agreements. 
The select committee has made some minor amendments including clarifying when the Privacy Commissioner must be consulted about agreements that allow photographs to be checked. For instance photographs can be checked only where the photograph provided by the agency is the same photograph as that recorded by the Department of Internal Affairs—for example in the passports database. Agencies will not be able to take photographs of individuals and submit them to the service for checking. 
I understand that Labour Party members of the select committee would have preferred that the Crown Ministers and officials not be protected from liability as a result of the service being used to check identity information. However the bill provides protection from liability as this is an opt-in service. The bill also contains numerous protections for members of the public including the consent-based nature of the service which will reduce the likelihood of liability arising. The bill also excludes protection from liability when there has been an act that has been carried out in bad faith or was grossly negligent. 
This bill makes it much simpler and easier for Government agencies and businesses to confirm the identity of individuals who transact with them. Knowing whom you are dealing with is vital to any transactional service and this bill vastly improves identity confirmation services and speeds up other services that rely on confirming customers’ identity. Once again I thank the Hon Nathan Guy for introducing the bill and the Government Administration Committee led by David Parker at the time that this bill was before the select committee. The Identity Information Confirmation Bill will provide a real benefit to businesses to assist them in confirming the identity of their customers while also balancing an individual’s right to privacy. This bill goes to the heart of enabling result area 10: enabling New Zealanders to transact easily with Government in a digital environment. I commend this bill to the House.