Media Release
FA60 - 4 June 2003
Australia Leads the Way on Passport Biometrics
I welcome the decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization to adopt facial biometrics as the worldwide standard for biometric-enhanced travel documents.
The decision means that all countries intending to use biometrics for enhanced passport security must use the same biometric system to ensure worldwide interoperability.
Australia’s plans to incorporate facial recognition biometrics into passports are well-advanced following the allocation of $6.5 million to test the technology in the past two years.
My Department has also been at the forefront of efforts to have the facial biometric standard adopted worldwide as the most effective and least intrusive way to boost passport security.
Under the proposed system, a person’s passport photo will be used to create a detailed electronic portrait of their face. The portrait will be stored on a tamper-proof microchip inside the passport. A computer will then compare this electronic portrait to the face of the person presenting a passport at an airport.
The use of biometric-enhanced passports should speed up movements through
airport controls, boost aviation security and curtail identity theft. It
should also prove invaluable in the fight against terrorism, people smuggling
and other transnational crimes.
Other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are
also exploring the use of facial recognition technology.
If current research and development work in Australia is successful, biometric identifiers could be added to Australian passports in the second half of 2004, making Australia the first country in the world to adopt the ICAO-approved system.
Media inquiries: Chris Kenny (Ministerial) +61 02 6277 7500 / Lyndall Sachs (Departmental) 02 6261 1555