OCBA - Proof of identity

Proof of identity

In Australia, to obtain a bank account, pension, passport, driver's licence, library or video card as well as a range of other services and benefits, you need to identify yourself. To do this, most organisations will require you to provide multiple sources of identification.

To open an account with a financial institution, a point system is used where points are allocated to each source of identification (according to the Financial Transaction Reports Regulations 1990). The collective value of points required to open an account is 100.

There are two types of identification documents; primary and secondary. You can use any combination of documents to equal the 100 points required. You do not have to include any primary documents but all documents must be originals and the names on each must match exactly.

Primary documents (70 points) include:

Certificate of citizenship
Current passport
Birth certificate

Secondary documents include:

Driver's licence (40 points)

Public employee or student ID card (40 points)

Credit card (25 points)

Medicare card (25 points)

Council rates notice (25 points).

A range of other documents, such as invoices for gas or electricity, can be used to validate a name and address. Each of these carry a varying number of point values.

Reliance on the point system does not, however, provide a complete proof of identity solution, as documents can be forged or altered. Many organisations have incorporated additional measures to protect against fraud.

Some documents now include a range of security features. Photographs have been included on driver's licences and student cards; and holograms and microprinting on credit cards and passports. Special paper known as a void pantograph (which reveals the word “void” if photocopied in colour) is used for all birth certificates issued in Australia (except Queensland).

If there is any doubt about the validity of a document, you should check with the issuing source.

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