The use of government-issued digital IDs is set to be expanded in a bid to crack down on identity theft.
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Tuesday's federal budget will contain $288.1 million over the next four years for the further roll out of digital IDs through myGov.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the wider use of digital IDs would reduce the risk of personal details being stored by third parties.
"The recent data breach across NSW and the ACT involving customer information from licensed clubs show how important it is to help Australians reduce the risk of identity theft," she said.
"Accessing services online with a secure digital ID restricts the oversharing of personal information and means there are less copies of your ID data and documents out in the world."
In the recent breach, details of more than one million customers who had visited more than a dozen licensed venues in NSW were published online.
The budget funding will include $155.6 million over two years for the tax office to improve the Commonwealth's digital ID provider.
It will also finance pilot programs to explore new ways for digital IDs to be used, such as allowing private sector businesses to verify qualifications of job applications or for people to prove their age getting into licensed venues.
The increased funding will further expand digital ID use for vulnerable and at-risk groups.
"Our investment in improving and expanding a national digital ID system shows we are committed to making it simpler, safer and more secure for Australians to access services online," Senator Gallagher said.
It's estimated more than 12 million digital IDs have been created to use federal, state and territory government services.
Australian Associated Press
