For more than 200,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people without a birth certificate, enrolling in higher education, opening a bank account, getting a driver's licence or passport, or even voting can be a challenge.
It is these barriers Jason Urranndulla Davis wants to overcome.
The Kalkadoon and Waanyi man has founded an Indigenous-led technology platform, WUNA, to help those who do not have standard identity documentation.
The platform provides a pathway for community-based verification checks which can be performed by elders or certified verifiers.
Mr Davis said the platform is more than an app that stores documentation; it allows people to own and control their cultural and government identities.
"What we're doing is creating a bridge for technology to co-exist along cultural identity, and WUNA is the platform that meets in the middle that helps people walk in two worlds with their identity and credentials all intact," he told AAP.
"It's not just a simple electronic app ... it's a game-changer for our mob."
ConnectID, a digital network that allows people to use organisations such as banks to verify their identity, has partnered with WUNA to allow community-based verifications to be used to access essential government services.
Managing director Andrew Black said it's important as digital identification grows that no one is left behind.
"What's really vital for me, as we set out this new piece of infrastructure, is how do we do that with inclusivity at front of mind so we don't unintentionally create a digital version of 100-point check which doesn't work for a lot of Australians," he said.
A disproportionate number of Indigenous people are without a birth certificate, according to a ConnectID report titled Identity in Crisis, released on Tuesday.
In Queensland, an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of births from Indigenous mothers were not registered in 2022, the report said.
Less than two per cent of births from non-Indigenous mothers were not registered in Queensland in the same period.
Not having a fixed address can also be a barrier to establishing and retaining identity documents, with Indigenous people making up about 20 per cent of the people experiencing homelessness in Australia, according to the report.
Mr Davis said it's time-consuming for people in such situations to access documents.
"We found in many cases mob call back to organisations who often hold their documentation on their behalf, to share those documents with them," Mr Davis said.
"That can be a 15-step process just to get that one piece of information."
WUNA also provides cultural verification such as Native Title identification and Traditional Owner membership, so identity documents reflect the owner's connection to cultural heritage.
Mr Davis said this is integral to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people self-determining and controlling their own identity.
"We shouldn't need to have other people hold on to our identity on our behalf, we need to hold on to that ourselves, have data sovereignty, control our identity," he said.
