C20/2008 Australian Defence Force (ADF) identification card accepted as proof of identity

Purpose

This Departmental Instruction is to advise that the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission have agreed that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) identification card is acceptable as a Category B standard of proof of identity (POI).

Background

An Interdepartmental Working Group (IWG) was established in November 2007 to examine ways of rationalising the administrative burden faced by veterans and ex-service personnel who have to deal with multiple government agencies.  The IWG and the Department of Defence are continuing to examine the acceptability of the ADF ID card as POI for agencies other than DVA.

The IWG has separately endorsed the use of the ADF ID card within DVA as a Category B POI document.  This was agreed by the Repatriation Commission and MRC Commission on 13 June 2008.

Category B standard of proof of identity

The Category B standard of POI documentation provides evidence of a person's identity within the community.  As a Category B document the ADF ID Card is equivalent in status to a current Australian driver's licence or current Australian passport.

CLIK Policy Library and FactSheet changes

A new dot point will be added to the Category B POI list in the CLIK Policy Library at Part 2/Chapter 2/Section 4, Categories of Proof of Identity.

The DVA FactSheet DVA06 Proof of Identity will also be updated.

Verification of ADF ID cards

Only valid and non-expired ADF ID Cards are acceptable for POI purposes.  Where there are doubts about the validity of a card, the Defence Orientation Centre (DOC) in the Department of Defence should be contacted to confirm the currency of the card.  The DOC can be contacted at doc@defence.gov.au

Action

This instruction is further to Departmental Instruction C08/2008 Client Security Checks Before Releasing or Accepting Information of 9 April 2008, which documented the agreed procedures when undertaking security checks including POI procedures.

Contact area

Any enquiries may be directed to the Income Support Policy Development

e-mail inbox at NAT Policy Advisings Income Support.