IFSA welcomes Government ID security campaign

A proposal by the Federal Government to strengthen identity security measures has been welcomed by the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) as critical to the transparency of the financial services industry.

The proposal was announced yesterday by federal attorney general Philip Ruddock and Minister for Justice and Customs, senator Chris Ellison.

The government plans to use a national online document checking process to fight identity theft, which it says costs Australia more than $1 billion a year.

Ellison said the state and federal government agencies have already started upgrading security features on indentification documents, including passports, driver’s licences and marriage certificates.

IFSA chief executive Richard Gilbert said the proposed national security strategy is “critical to the clean and transparent operation of Australia’s financial services system.

“A sound system of identification is one of the cornerstones of our industry’s reputation, and reputation is all important if we are to continue to rapidly grow as a global financial services centre.

“It is a positive step in combating crime in the financial services sector and we look forward to working with government to ensure that identity theft and other fraud is made as difficult as possible for those with criminal intent.”

Gilbert said Australia now has the fourth largest pool of investment fund assets in the world and the opportunity is there for the country to become the funds management hub for the Asia-Pacific region.

“IFSA member companies have a significant stake in the integrity of our financial system and we believe now is the time to further enhance identity verification using the latest technological advances.”