A collaborative working partnership between the HTI and Service NSW’s Digital Identity team to apply principles from HTI’s proposed FRT model law to the facial verification and identity projects currently being developed by Service NSW.
Commercial, government and private interest in facial recognition technology (FRT) has grown rapidly in recent years as the potential use cases for the technology increases. While FRT can bring benefits to society, FRT must only be used in responsible ways that uphold human rights, including the right to privacy and non-discrimination.
HTI has received funding from the James Martin Institute to work with Service NSW on the responsible implementation of facial verification systems as part of its digital identity and credential services projects which fall under the NSW Government’s Identity Strategy. Governments must adopt effective structural governance mechanisms to ensure the safety, transparency and accountability of these new services. Our proposed project targets these structural governance mechanisms and ensures relevant and impactful engagement with government to implement best-practice use of FRT.
Specifically, we aim to work with Service NSW to adopt effective policy, training, and assurance frameworks to guarantee that, when the Department of Customer Services uses this technology, it does so in ways that meet legal requirements, ethical standards and human rights obligations. This project’s findings and outputs may be applied across other NSW Government areas, especially in service delivery and law enforcement, to the greatest benefit of our communities.
Methodology
The work includes four targeted stages -
- Consultation: Research and Interviews
HTI will conduct a detailed consultation to understand the current state of play regarding Service NSW’s digital identity initiative, and especially the protections it has already put in place to comply with the NSW AI Assurance Framework.
- Governance and accountability
HTI will co-design a governance and oversight approach for Service NSW’s use of FRT, which is consistent with the NSW AI Assurance Framework.
- Education and Training
HTI will co-design a training strategy for Service NSW’s use of FRT, including staff with policy responsibility for Service NSW’s FRT activities; staff who manage implementation and oversight; and frontline staff who oversee customer engagement with Service NSW digital identity products.
- Evaluation and Communication
HTI will produce a brief Policy Insights Paper including evaluation of the practical policy lessons learnt during this project.
JMI and HTI will join to share our findings and advocate for the project outcomes across Service NSW, other NSW Government agencies, and a broader public audience
