Health Card Photo Fears
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday August 28, 2007
THE Privacy Commissioner has advised the Federal Government not to include photographs on the proposed health and welfare access card unless it wants people to think of it as a de facto national identity card.
"A card with a mandatory photograph on its face, and near-universal coverage of the adult population, could be close in appearance to a community perception of a national identity card," the commissioner, Karen Curtis, told the Government in comments on the draft legislation establishing the card.The advice, along with other concerns about the card's possible misuse, comes as the $1 billion project has been shelved until after the election.Ms Curtis said a photograph would make it easier to verify the bearer's identity but people did not need to produce photographic proof to obtain most government payments and services.Photo identification should only be required for "high-risk or high-value transactions", but a driver's licence or passport would do.The original plan was to start issuing the card next year.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald
Share This