[LINK] Services Australia 'supercharges' myGov ahead of COVID jab

[Stephen Loosley]

.. As the Australian Immunisation Register is upgraded to handle its new role.

By Asha Barbaschow | February 18, 2021 -- 22:44 GMT (09:44 AEDT) | Topic: Innovation
https://www.zdnet.com/article/services-australia-supercharges-mygov-ahead-of-covid-jab/


COVID-19 vaccinations will soon begin in Australia, and to prepare, the federal government is asking people to link their digital government services, specifically myGov and Medicare accounts.

Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said linking myGov and Medicare online services would allow individuals to access digital proof they have had a vaccination.

He also said Services Australia has "supercharged" the government's online service portal.

"Services Australia has been putting in the work to ensure government services are simple, respectful, transparent, and helpful -- so we have supercharged myGov and we have state-of-the art cybersecurity in place to protect the Australian Immunisation Register," he said.

"Linking your myGov and Medicare digital accounts is a simple step you can take right now that will help you and your family be ready for a vaccinated Australia."

Earlier this month, Robert touted a vaccination passport, a digital record confirming people have received the jab through the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

"They will have a record, they will have a digital and paper certificate. For some 89% of Australians that have a smartphone, they will be able to access that digital certificate in their smartphone, download it onto their phone as a permanent record," Robert said at the time.

On Friday, he added the AIR has undergone significant upgrades in preparation for COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

"The AIR already allows you to see your recorded immunisations through myGov or the Medicare Express Plus app through an 'immunisation history statement'," he said. "Almost 5.5 million immunisation history statements were securely accessed by individuals between October 2019 and August 2020. Your immunisation history statement will record your COVID-19 vaccinations." ...

According to Robert, there are currently 19.7 million active myGov accounts with 9.9 million linked to Medicare.

Since 30 June 2020, on average, 150,000 new myGov accounts have been created and linked to a member service each month and 92,000 myGov accounts have been linked to Medicare each month.

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