Australia customs tests biometric technology

Sydney Airport is currently testing the advanced Customs SmartGate technology which processes the face-to-passport check currently undertaken by a Customs officer. The system uses photo-matching technology to compare a live image taken at the Customs control point against one or more stored images.

In a world first, SmartGate has been installed at the Customs control point for Qantas aircrew at Sydney International Airport. In less than ten seconds SmartGate performs all necessary image verification and immigration checks, allowing enrolled aircrew to pass through Customs quickly while maintaining a high level of security.

All users must have previously enrolled in the system and SmartGate users are subject to all existing Customs, Immigration and Quarantine requirements and must continue to declare any goods subject to government prohibitions or restrictions.

Customs is introducing a variety of new technologies that will play a key role in protecting Australia's borders. Photo matching will stop people travelling under a false identity and will provide greater protection against the fraudulent use of travel documents.

When introduced more generally the technology will allow Customs to speed up processing while maintaining a high-level of security, freeing Customs officers to focus on higher risk groups.

Worldwide, there is strong interest in biometric technology. The USA has  already passed legislation requiring a biometric form of identity verification for visitors by 2004. Customs is also working closely with Passports Australia which is undertaking research into the possible inclusion of a facial biometric in future Australian passports.

Photo-matching compares the live image of a person against the image stored when they registered to use the system.

Biometric technology measures unique physical characteristics and/or behavioural traits to verify the identity of an individual.

Customs has extensively tested the Cognitec Systems' FaceVACS software being used in SmartGate. The FaceVACS system is highly accurate and consistent across a range of variables including aging, ethnicity and changes in facial appearance (eg. glasses/no glasses, facial hair/no facial hair).

The system can even detect small differences between people who may look alike to the human eye.

By law, Customs is required to adhere to the Information Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988. Customs has worked closely with the Office of Federal Privacy Commissioner to safeguard the privacy of SmartGate users.

The only images used during the SmartGate transaction are the enrolment images and the live images of that same person taken at the kiosk. These images will not be compared to images in any other database.

SmartGate enrolment is entirely voluntary and any of the Qantas crew who do not wish to use SmartGate are able to opt for a Customs officer to manually process them at the crew channel.