Identity Verification (NZ)

Checking a volunteer’s identity

There are reported cases of people gaining employment in the children’s workforce using another’s identity and credentials. Verifying a person’s identity is a very important part of screening. Without it any other information is unreliable.

To sign up for the Voluntarily platform a volunteer only needs a verified email address. However, to participate in activities in schools they require the SchoolSafe accreditation which includes a verified identity.

How to verify identity

The following standard should be used to verify identity. It is based on the Department of Internal Affairs’, ‘Evidence of Identity Standard v2.0’.

The standard is known as the ‘A + B + PHOTO + RECORDS’ process.

Category A (‘A’)

The candidate should supply a ‘Primary Identification Document’ (Category A) to establish that the claimed identity exists. This is a closed (limited) list of acceptable documentation that includes an original birth certificate, a passport, a citizenship certificate, a New Zealand certificate of identification or a New Zealand firearms licence; AND

Category B (‘+B’)

A second form of official identification document that shows the claimed identity is used in the community. This is an open list and includes many common forms of documentation used in day-to-day life. For example, driver licences, HANZ 18+ cards and IRD numbers; (+ Category B); AND

PHOTO

One of the two forms of identification must be photographic, verified in person against the candidate (+ PHOTO); AND

RECORDS

A large organisation should search its records to check that no other person has claimed the identity, for example, payroll search. (+RECORDS).

Electronic identity verification

The identity verification process described above assumes that you will be checking identity by hand using a paper process, but an electronic process that meets or exceeds the standard is also acceptable.

An example of an electronic process that meets the requirements is the verified ‘RealMe’ system. RealMe enables people to access multiple online services with the same username and password.

A verified RealMe account goes further by enabling people to prove their identity online. Upgrading to a verified account involves an application process, including having a photograph taken at a participating New Zealand Post retail outlet.

For more information on RealMe see: www.realme.govt.nz