From 19 October 2020, Biometric Collection services will be resumed at different existing biometric locations. This resumption of Biometricc collection services through Australia Visa application centres (AVACS) and The Austrailian Visa Application Collection centres (ABCCs) will be dependent on in-country COVID-19 restrictions.
The federal government has decided to develop a digital visa to replace the paper Incoming Passenger Card which international travelers to the country must submit.
A document including biometrics enrollment and verification providers, on the permissions capabilities the government will require has been published by the Department of Home Affairs, as the government attempts to move on from an abandoned plan to outsource its visa processing platform for one billion dollars. The government already spent $92 million on that plan before the change in direction.
The digital travel credential would also have use for “similar permission-based services,” the document says, and would be publicly funded and operated, a reversal from the previously-proposed system.The government plans to award a tender for the platform’s base functionality later this month, and launch a pair of limited use cases by October 2021.
iTnews also reports that a little less than $75 million was set aside for the program in the 2020-2021 budget.
In addition to the usual uses for the travel credential, Australia’s new system is intended to help public health authorities verify travellers’ COVID-19 vaccination information.