Financial Counselling Australia launches Community ID Cards pilot with NAB Foundation funding
- Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), with funding from NAB Foundation, has launched an 18-month pilot to issue Community ID Cards.
- The project will develop a national framework and practical guide to help more First Nations organisations become Community ID Card issuers.
- Jigalong Aboriginal Corporation in Western Australia will partner in the pilot, alongside First Nations organisations, regulators and financial institutions.
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), supported by funding from the NAB Foundation, has launched an 18-month pilot project aimed at helping more First Nations organisations issue Community ID Cards.
Community ID Cards provide an important pathway to identification for some First Nations peoples who face structural barriers to obtaining standard forms of ID. Challenges can include inconsistent birth records, limited access to primary ID documents and a lack of ID-issuing infrastructure in remote communities. Historical trauma associated with state control of identity records can also contribute to these barriers.
“When you don’t have proper ID, your ability to access banking and financial services is severely limited. We hope this pilot will give more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a trusted pathway to access banking and financial services,” said Lynda Edwards, FCA’s Director of First Nations Policy.
Community ID cards are recognised by AUSTRAC and the Australian Banking Association as a valid form of ID for banking purposes. However, there is currently no framework to support community organisations to develop and produce their own ID cards, and limited information about how many organisations issue them across Australia.
“A key part of this project is building a clearer national picture of existing Community ID Card issuers and identifying what is needed to support additional organisations to begin issuing ID cards,” said Ms Edwards.
“This initiative supports NAB Foundations’ focus on First Nations economic empowerment and prosperity by improving access to identification, a critical enabler of participation in the economy, banking and financial services.” said Kate Betts, Head of NAB Foundation.
The pilot will work with First Nations organisations, financial institutions and regulators, alongside lead pilot community Jigalong Aboriginal Corporation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
“This pilot has the potential to have a lasting impact on many First Nations peoples who are currently unable to participate equally in our economy due to identification barriers,” Ms Edwards said.
First Nations consulting group Mura Lagh will deliver the pilot. The project will be led by Dr Heron Loban, a Torres Strait Islander woman with family connections to Mabuyag and Boigu.
Over the next 18 months, the project will:
- map existing Card ID issuers and identify communities seeking to issue cards
- develop a regulator-aligned framework
- produce a step-by-step guide for organisations wanting to become issuers
- co-design and implement a Community ID Card issuing process with Jigalong Aboriginal Corporation, including the production of pilot cards
- evaluate the pilot and deliver a national rollout plan
Work on the framework and national mapping will begin immediately, with pilot implementation in Jigalong scheduled for a later phase of the project.
ENDS
For comment contact Maura Angle, Director of Communications at FCA on 0418 334 121 or email [email protected].