Verify Identities

Document verification against issuer records

As an approved gateway service provider, Global Data has a direct connection to the Document Verification Service, which is operated by the Australian Government. Businesses or government agencies can use this connection to verify a person’s identity, with their express consent, against government-held records.

Fourteen Australian document types, each checked with its issuer
Consent recorded with every check
A verification certificate for your file

Request a Demo See sample checks

Illustrative WatchEye Quick ID Check and ID Pass screens with mock data and specimen documents. Checks and access depend on your configuration.

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On this page

Documents
How it works
Quick ID Checks
Responses
Evidence
Ways to verify
Access options
Getting started
Questions

Documents

Choose the documents your process needs

Select the document types relevant to your customers. Coverage can differ between customer-completed flows, staff-run checks and APIs, so confirm the documents available through your chosen route.

Driver licence

Checked with NEVDIS, the national driver licence exchange
You enter name, date of birth, licence number, card number, state
Passport

Checked with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
You enter given names, family name, date of birth, passport number
Medicare card

Checked with Services Australia
You enter card colour, name as printed, card and issue number, IRN, expiry
Birth certificate

Checked with State or territory Births, Deaths and Marriages registry
You enter name, date of birth, registration or certificate number, state
Visa

Checked with Department of Home Affairs, using the linked foreign passport
You enter name, date of birth, foreign passport number
ImmiCard

Checked with Department of Home Affairs
You enter name, date of birth, ImmiCard number
Centrelink concession card

Checked with Services Australia
You enter card type, name as printed, customer reference number, expiry
Citizenship certificate

Checked with Department of Home Affairs
You enter name, date of birth, stock number, acquisition date
Registration by descent

Checked with Department of Home Affairs
You enter name, date of birth, stock number, acquisition date
Change of name certificate

Checked with State or territory Births, Deaths and Marriages registry
You enter names on the certificate, registration or certificate number, state
Marriage certificate

Checked with State or territory Births, Deaths and Marriages registry
You enter both parties' names, date of event, registration or certificate number, state
Death certificate

Checked with State or territory Births, Deaths and Marriages registry
You enter name, date of death, registration or certificate number, state
Aviation Security Identification Card

Checked with The ASIC issuing scheme, through the DVS
You enter full name, card number, expiry, card type, date of birth
Maritime Security Identification Card

Checked with The MSIC issuing scheme, through the DVS
You enter full name, card number, expiry, card type, date of birth

Electoral enrolment. An AEC enrolment check is also available through the DVS for eligible Australian reporting entities. It confirms name, date of birth and residential address against the Electoral Roll.

New Zealand documents. NZ driver licences and passports are checked against New Zealand sources, not the DVS. New Zealand identity verification

Specimen images. The cards and certificates shown are illustrations, not real documents. Issuers update designs; the check works from the details, not the image.

How it works

Compare the details in three steps

Collect the required details and consent, submit the selected check, then review the response. Enter names and document details as required for that document type.

Step 1: Collect the details and consent

Choose the document type and enter its fields exactly as printed. Confirm that the person has given express consent to the check before it runs.
OutputDocument details with a consent record
Step 2: The issuer compares its record

The details go through the DVS to the agency that issued the document. The agency compares them with its own record and answers. No record is returned, only the response.
OutputA DVS result code and request number
Step 3: Review the response

Read the outcome against your verification policy. Where details do not match, check the entry before asking for more evidence. Download the certificate for your file.
OutputA recorded result and a PDF certificate

Quick ID Checks

See what a document check asks for and returns

Each document type asks for its own fields and goes to its own issuer. This sample driver licence check, the most common, uses mock details to show the fields a staff member enters in WatchEye Quick ID Check, the response that comes back and the certificate it produces.

Select Drivers Licence, enter the details as printed on the card and confirm consent. The middle name is optional; some jurisdictions do not hold it.

Responses

Read the response in context

A match indicates that the supplied details matched the issuer’s records. Consider that response alongside any other checks your process requires before deciding how to proceed.

Verified

The details you submitted match the record held by the issuing agency. The document exists and the fields you entered agree with it.

Next step. Record the result and continue with any other checks your policy calls for.

Not verified

The details did not match the issuer’s record. Common causes are a mistyped digit, a shortened or former name, a missing middle name on a passport, or an expired document.

Next step. Compare the entry with the physical document, correct it and run the check again before asking for another document.

Data error

The request contained data the issuer could not process, so no comparison was made. An expired Centrelink card or a card number in the wrong format returns this response.

Next step. Check the format of each field and the document’s expiry, then resubmit.

Follow up on an unsuccessful check

Review the submitted details and returned response before asking for corrections or another document. An unsuccessful comparison does not, by itself, establish that fraud has occurred.

The two sample outcomes show the most common follow-ups: a name entered differently from the record, and a concession card that has expired.

What a Y response does not establish

That the person presenting the document is the person named on it.
That the physical document is genuine. The check works from the details, not an image.
Anything about a document type you did not check.

/QI-5E-2C7-A90

Given names enteredJohnPrinted on passportJohn Edward

ReviewPassports verify on the full given names as printed. Correct the entry and run the check again.

Your team's decisionRe-run with "John Edward". Second check QI-5E-2C8-B11 returned Y. S. Taylor

The passport check returned N. The given names field holds only the first name; the passport record holds both given names. Enter the names as printed and run the check again.

Illustrative mockups with sample data. The review notes sit outside the product.

Evidence

Keep the certificate and the response with the check

Every completed check records the details entered, who confirmed consent, the DVS result code and the verification request number. The certificate puts these on one page for your file.

Identity Verification Certificate marked SAMPLE, listing each licence detail checked, the DVS result and the consent record. — Illustrative result with mock data beside a sample WatchEye certificate.

Ways to verify

Verify customers remotely or through your team

Customers can verify themselves from a link on their phone, or your staff can run a check with details they already hold. Choose the path that suits the customer and the way you onboard.

Path A · Customer-completed

Remote verification with ID Pass

Create an ID Pass in WatchEye and send the customer a single-use link by SMS or email. You choose the documents, how many are needed and whether to include liveness. The result comes back to your Quick ID Check list.

Global Data — The customer opens the link on their phone. ID Pass shows your organisation’s name and the steps they will complete.

Explore ID Pass

Path B · Staff-run

Staff checks with WatchEye Quick ID Check

Quick ID checks are one-off checks your team runs in WatchEye. The result comes back immediately, and the customer does not need to be in a program first. Run a DVS document check, or non-DVS checks against ASIC records, Global Data’s identity data and payroll and superannuation records.

Quick ID Checks lists recent checks with their outcome. Start a DVS check from the panel at the top.

Explore WatchEye

What a DVS match tells you

Global Data uses the Document Verification Service (DVS) to verify a person’s government-held identity documents.

The DVS allows for instant, online identity verification. A person’s name, address, date of birth and identity documents may be confirmed against government-held records. The DVS supports businesses to meet ‘know your customer’ requirements and to combat fraud and identity crime.

Path C · From your software

Run checks from your own system with the API

The WatchEye API runs the same Quick ID checks from your onboarding or case-management software. An ID check returns its result in the same response. You can also create an ID Pass through the API and send the customer the hosted link yourself.

Your system collects consent and keeps the exact wording shown. Each request confirms it was obtained.
Document numbers are never returned in responses.
ID checks return the outcome in the same response, with nothing to poll.
A sandbox account lets your developers test before going live.

View the API documentation

Your developers connect your API key with a first call to the account endpoint. It confirms the key works, whether you are pointed at sandbox or live, and which checks your account can run.

API endpoints

Each DVS document type has its own endpoint. Open one to see the fields it accepts and the response it returns.

Access options

Choose how your team runs checks

The options differ in who enters the details and where the result goes. Many organisations use more than one, for example staff checks at a branch and ID Pass for remote applicants.

ID Pass

Send a single-use link by SMS or email. The customer completes the document and liveness steps on their own device.

Details entered by: The customer, from a link
Result appears in: Quick ID Check list in WatchEye

About ID Pass

WatchEye Quick ID Check

One-off checks your staff run with details they already hold: a DVS document check, or ASIC, Global Data and payroll checks.

Details entered by: Your staff
Result appears in: Check list and PDF certificate

About WatchEye

WatchEye API

Run ID checks and create ID Passes from your own software. Confirm the inputs and responses for each check type in the documentation.

Details entered by: Your system
Result appears in: The API response

API documentation

Getting started

Prepare your verification workflow

Bring your document mix, expected volumes and preferred access route to the demo. We can discuss the checks and setup that suit your requirements.

Before your first DVS check

Complete Global Data’s onboarding checks, then apply to the DVS as a business user and accept the business user terms. Global Data is an approved DVS Gateway Service Provider.
Obtain express consent before each check and keep a record of it. DVS users can be audited on consent.
Decide which documents your verification policy accepts and which route each customer group will use.
If you operate several brands, tell us: each can verify under its own DVS identity in one WatchEye account.

IDMatch: consent obligations

Bring to the demo

The documents your customers usually hold
Expected monthly check volumes
Whether staff, customers or your system will enter the details
Where the result and certificate need to be stored

Request a Demo

Questions

Document verification questions

For the DVS itself, see IDMatch, the Australian Government’s guidance for DVS users.

Does a DVS match identify the person presenting the document?

It confirms a comparison of document details with issuer records. Establishing who is presenting the document may require separate checks, such as the liveness and face comparison available in biometric identity verification.

Why would a genuine document return N?

Usually because the details were not entered as they appear on the issuer’s record: a shortened name, a missing middle name on a passport, a mistyped digit. Check the entry against the document before asking for another document.

Is the card number required for driver licences?

Yes. Licence checks need the licence number and the card number printed on the card. The middle name is optional and some jurisdictions do not hold it, so we recommend leaving it blank.

Do you keep a copy of the document?

Staff-run and API checks send document details, not an image. ID Pass captures images for the customer flow; how long they are retained is set when the ID Pass is configured.

Are New Zealand checks part of the DVS?

No. New Zealand checks use their own sources. See the New Zealand identity verification page for the available checks and inputs.

How is consent recorded?

In WatchEye a check cannot run until the user confirms consent. The wording, the user and the time are stored with the check and printed on the certificate. For API checks your system keeps the wording and confirms consent in each request.

Request a demo

See a document check and its result

Explore a sample document check, the response your team receives and the access options relevant to your business. Use the call to cover:

The documents your customers usually provide
Staff, customer and API routes for your process
DVS registration and consent requirements

Prefer to talk? Call 03 9948 4089, 9am to 5pm AEST, Monday to Friday.

Get startedBook A Demo

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Data hosted in Australia

Document verification against issuer records

Choose the documents your process needs

Driver licence

Passport

Medicare card

Birth certificate

Visa

ImmiCard

Centrelink concession card

Citizenship certificate

Registration by descent

Change of name certificate

Marriage certificate

Death certificate

Aviation Security Identification Card

Maritime Security Identification Card