The government intends to launch very soon a new electronic platform that can be used by elderly pensioners as verification instead of submitting signed life certificates.

Minister with responsibility for digital transformation Dr. Dana Morris Dixon said the system is almost ready and that the programmers recently showed her a demo of how it works.

Dr. Morris Dixon made the revelation yesterday, while responding comments by opposition senator Peter Bunting about challenges experienced by the elderly with life certificates.

The upper house was debating a motion relating to aging and the elderly. 

Currently, pensioners are required to submit a life certificate once every quarter to continue receiving their money.

The life certificates must be stamped and signed by a Justice of the Peace or other authorised official.

Dr. Morris Dixon said the electronic platform will be available on the pensioners cellular phone making the proof of life verification process simpler and more efficient.

She noted that the impending National Identification System (NIDS), while helpful as another form of verification, will be voluntary, so not everyone will use that system.