Digital identity may be the missing link between awareness, trust and action in Australian government services

Australian governments have made real progress on digital service delivery. Usage is high, satisfaction is strong and many services are already a normal part of everyday life. Yet an important gap remains: large numbers of people still do not turn to government’s digital channels when they need help most. During major life events, many Australians still start with friends and family, search engines or increasingly generative AI rather than government itself. That creates a critical question for the next phase of transformation: what helps people move from simply knowing a service exists to actually trusting it enough to use it?

Digital identity is emerging as one of the clearest answers. Not just as an authentication tool, but as an enabling layer that can connect service discovery, trust and completion.

It is tempting to think about digital identity only in technical terms: a secure way to prove who someone is. But the citizen experience is bigger than that. For many people, the hardest part of using government services is not the final login screen. It is the cumulative friction that comes before and after it: figuring out where to go, understanding what service applies, navigating multiple agencies, repeatedly proving identity, re-entering the same information and losing momentum halfway through.

A trusted and persistent digital identity can reduce that friction. It can create continuity across services, channels and moments of need. Instead of each interaction feeling like a fresh start, identity can provide a stable foundation that helps government recognise returning users, streamline authentication and support more connected journeys. In practical terms, that means fewer barriers between discovering a service and completing it.

This matters because awareness alone is not enough. Research consistently shows that many Australians do not use online government services during life events not because the services lack value, but because they are not top of mind, seem difficult to use or do not feel worth the effort. If identity can help make services feel simpler, safer and more coherent, it becomes part of solving the adoption problem.

The signals around digital identity are striking. Adoption of myGovID rose strongly from 60% in 2023 to 73% in 2024. Among users, sentiment was overwhelmingly positive: most reported a positive experience, most found it trustworthy and almost all said it made government services easier to access.

Just as important is what sits around those numbers. Users of digital identity report stronger digital experiences than non-users. They are far more likely to rate their digital government experiences as excellent. They are also more likely to believe government is getting better at digital service delivery, more likely to engage with federal apps and more likely to say they feel completely safe trusting government with their data.

That does not prove digital identity alone causes better outcomes. People who adopt it may already be more digitally confident. But the correlation is still strategically significant. It suggests that digital identity is associated with the very outcomes governments want to strengthen: smoother access, higher confidence, stronger engagement and better perceived service quality.

One reason digital services go unused is that citizens often encounter government in fragmented ways. A life event such as moving house, changing jobs, having a baby or retiring can trigger multiple needs across different departments. Even when services exist, the journey can feel disconnected. That is where digital identity becomes more than a sign-in function.

With the right design, identity can support a more joined-up experience. It can help create a single gateway across services, simplify movement between apps and websites and reduce the need for citizens to repeat steps. It can also support more personalised interactions, where services are easier to find and more relevant to the person using them.

Australians are open to this kind of value. Many say personalisation would increase their likelihood of engaging with digital government services, and there is strong demand for a single digital entry point. The implication is clear: if identity is used thoughtfully, it can help government shift from isolated transactions to more connected service journeys.

None of this works without trust. Digital identity can reduce friction, but it can also heighten public concern if people do not understand how it works or how their information is protected. That matters in an environment where trust in government data handling has been under pressure, privacy concerns have risen and many Australians remain cautious about data-sharing across departments.

Interestingly, this is where digital identity again appears to matter. People who use it report higher confidence than non-users. That suggests digital identity can play a trust-building role when the experience is clear, consistent and well governed. In other words, identity is not only about secure access. It can also become a visible proof point that government is capable of delivering digital interactions that feel safe and reliable.

But that trust should never be assumed. Citizens want a clear value exchange. They are more willing to support data-sharing and more connected services when the benefit is visible: easier access, faster resolution, less repetition and more relevant support. If those benefits are vague, trust weakens quickly.

There is also a simpler issue that cannot be ignored: many Australians remain confused about digital identity itself. A significant share say they are unsure about the difference between myGov and myGovID or myID. That confusion is more than a branding problem. If people do not understand what a digital identity product is for, when they should use it or how it relates to other services, adoption and trust will stall.

This is why communications has to be treated as part of the service, not a layer added afterward. Governments need to explain digital identity in plain language: what it is, what it is not, why it exists, what problems it solves and what protections are in place. Citizens should not have to decode technical terms or policy language to feel comfortable using a core piece of public infrastructure.

Clear communication also means being explicit about appropriate use cases. Not every interaction needs the same level of identity assurance. Not every service should feel intrusive. People need reassurance that digital identity is there to make access simpler and safer, not to create new complexity or unnecessary data collection.

The next chapter of digital government is not just about creating more services online. It is about making services easier to find, easier to trust and easier to complete. Digital identity can help tie those goals together.

Done well, it can provide a persistent layer that reduces repeated authentication, supports more personalised journeys, enables simpler movement across channels and gives citizens a more coherent path from awareness to action. It can also help government meet rising expectations for seamless access while supporting stronger security and better experience design.

But the opportunity depends on more than technology. It requires trust-first design, clearer communications, strong privacy protections and a relentless focus on reducing friction for real people in real moments of need. The lesson is not that identity should become the centre of government services for its own sake. It is that identity, when designed around citizen value, may be one of the strongest enablers of a more connected, confident and actionable digital experience.

For Australian government leaders, that makes digital identity more than a policy or platform decision. It makes it a service transformation priority.

Relevant Links

• Digital Citizen Report 2024: Australia’s Digital Divide, AI Readiness and Government Service Trust
• Digital Citizen Report 2024: Australia’s Digital Divide, AI Readiness and Government Service Trust
• When life gets more expensive, digital government has to get easier.
• Why aren’t great digital government services the first place Australians turn?
• AI-first service discovery: why government content must work for machines as well as people
• France : repenser les services publics numériques à l’ère de l’IA, sans perdre la confiance des citoyens (Europe)
• México ante la nueva era de los servicios públicos digitales: confianza, descubrimiento e inclusión en tiempos de IA (LATAM)
• FAQ (FAQ)
• What to Know About Publicis Sapient’s Digital Citizen Research: 12 Key Findings on Australia’s Digital Government Services (LIST)