Statutory Review of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959

Closes 1 Mar 2026

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Are current safeguards operating effectively for the digital execution method?

A digital statutory declaration needs to be made on an approved online platform (myGov) and the declarant’s identity needs to be verified by an approved identity service (myID). At present, myGov and myID are the only services approved by the Attorney-General to deliver digital statutory declarations.

Given the introduction of digital execution was a significant change for statutory declaration verification – primarily due to the replacement of a witness with digital the ID verification processes – the Act and Regulations contain additional safeguards applying to both approved online platforms and identity services.

Page 7-9 of the discussion paper provide more information on digital execution safeguards and what we know about how they are working. We are interested in hearing about any experiences, views or knowledge you may have on whether the safeguards are appropriate or need to be changed.

Please provide your views by answering the below questions. You do not need to answer them all – you may respond only to those that are relevant to you or your organisation.

8. Are the current safeguards associated with executing a digital statutory declaration effective?

For example, in protecting against data loss, privacy breaches, fraud or duress.

(Please select one)

9. Does the QR code on the digital statutory declaration form effectively allow third parties to verify the validity of a declaration?
10. Are you aware of any examples in which the absence of a witness, who may ordinarily check for instances of coercion or duress, has allowed for a digital statutory declaration to be executed in a manner that undermines its validity?
11. Is the required identity strength of ‘Standard’ appropriate for digital statutory declarations?
12. Are there any changes to the Act or the Regulations that could be made, including with respect to the annual reporting requirements, that could enhance privacy, security, transparency and accountability?