The TDIF defines the standards, rules and guidelines for firms that can operate as digital identity providers.

In a statement, Mastercard said it would work with the government's Digital Transformation Agency to check whether its technology could be to verify identity and age digitally.

The company will work with the DTA to learn from private sector trials, to gauge effects on retailers’ and consumers’ experiences and also online expectations when implementing the TDIF.

Mastercard has three aims. It wants to enable consumers to create a high-quality and reusable digital identity based on documents such as passports or driving licences.

The second aim is to protect digital identity data using encryption and facial biometrics and ensure that only the data owner can access and use it.

Mastercard is also looking to work with other digital identity providers to share verified identity data with organisations in a secure, global network.

“Australians are increasingly expecting no disruptions between their online and physical lives, and identity is an area that must keep pace with those expectations," said Richard Wormald, division president, Australasia, Mastercard.

"Public-private pilots have the potential to make it easier to use these verified identities securely, everywhere they travel.

“Connecting with trusted third-party digital identity platforms is key to scaling digital identity more broadly.

"Without interoperability, it’s very hard to build beyond local deployments. This is why Mastercard continues to collaborate with like-minded organisations, giving citizens new ways to verify their identity without having to hand over any physical documents or surplus information."