Authentication Policy

The Authentication Programme began in 2000 with the aim of determining what Government could do to help people more conveniently and securely authenticate themselves when transacting with government agencies using the Internet.

In the first few years, the Authentication Programme focussed on policy development, high-level design work, and public consultation. This policy-led approach has led to the development of a uniquely New Zealand approach to authentication that leverages international best practice.

Following consultation with a range of public interest groups and agencies, the policy and implementation principles approved by Cabinet in 2002 continue to be the foundation on which later work has developed and will continue to play a central role in directing the future vision of the Authentication Programme.

The principles were the basis for four conceptual models that were developed in late 2002 to represent the possible ways to achieve a consistent approach to online authentication. These models were analysed to determine the implications of each approach and feedback was also sought via a public consultation.

This led to a decision by the Government in June 2003 to proceed with designing an all-of-government authentication solution. Since then, work has progressed in phases on Authentication Standards and development of all-of-government authentication services (Government Logon Service, Identity Verification Service, and Future Services).

Key documents that were published during this stage of the Authentication Programme include:

• April 2002 - Cabinet paper
• March 2003 - Online Authentication: Design Factors
• March 2003 - Preliminary Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)
• July 2003 - Blueprint: Authentication for e-govt
• December 2003 - PIA
• April 2004 - PIA Update
• April 2004 - Best Practice Framework for Authentication