Smart Energy Council calls for state to abandon facial recognition

Australia's Smart Energy Council is calling on the Victorian government to immediately scrap the need for facial recognition to claim the solar rebate, amid a backlash from customers and installers struggling with the new technology.

Almost half of all attempted facial recognition identity checks failed in the first two weeks of July, after Solar Victoria began using Service Victoria's new facial recognition system as an alternative to the traditional 100-point paper-based identity check required to prove eligibility for the rebate scheme.

Solar Victoria now requires identity checks via a facial recogntition smartphone app.

The government should "immediately scrap" the use of facial recognition, with its failure stalling installations across the state and leaving elderly customers in tears, says John Grimes, chief executive of the Smart Energy Council.

"This application has made the process of installing solar even harder. The industry is really struggling after being choked by Solar Homes Victoria, and this application is not helping, it's making things worse," Grimes says.

"We've spoken to many solar installers with [stories of] customers simply unable to use the application, or of it not working. There's also concern around who now has this data and how it will be used in the future."

One woman contacted by the Smart Energy Council was unable to use the facial recognition system because she is not wearing glasses in her passport photo, but without her glasses she can not follow the onscreen instructions. Another 90 year-old man was in tears because of the pressure of trying to apply for the rebate using facial recognition.

Forty per cent of Solar Victoria's attempted facial recognition identity checks failed in the first two weeks after it was implemented, with users told they would lose their spot on the waiting list if they did not complete their registration within 14 days.

The scheme now requires applicants to scan their face, passport and driver's licence using their smartphone. If the process is successful, an "electronic identity credential" is generated, linked to the user's smartphone, allowing them to verify their identity in future using an SMS code sent to their number.

Solar Victoria is the first state government agency to test the service, which launched as a "public beta" on July 1 despite being tested with fewer than 60 people before going live. The Victorian government intends to extend the facial recognition program to other government services.

The alternative manual identity check process has also become more onerous for those claiming the rebate since July 1.

The call to scrap facial recognition comes as Victoria's solar installers struggle to cope with delays caused by the abrupt end of the rebate scheme in April, followed by the decision to only accept 3333 applications per month when the scheme resumed on July 1, despite pent-up demand.

"With the solar rebate scheme's failure, the industry is being brought to its knees, including job losses and businesses about to close. This terrible software is really the icing on the cake," Grimes says,

"Why are people who want a solar rebate being used as guinea pigs to test a broken system?"

Since the facial recognition system launched, Service Victoria has improved onscreen instructions and added the ability for users to abandon the process more quickly when it fails.

Despite the Smart Energy Council's call to scrap facial recognition, Solar Victoria intends to keep using the technology, says chief executive Stan Krpan.

"Facial recognition software is being used by the Solar Homes program to speed up the identity verification process," Krpan says.

"Not using facial confirmation means it could take two weeks to process each application."