VANguard is a Whole-of-Government service delivered by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR).  It is a key enabler of the Government Strategy for business-to-government transactions, delivering a range of secure eAuthentication services including:

• User Authentication Service – (UAS);
• Signature Verification Service – (SVS);
• Timestamping Service - (TSS);
• Security Token Service – (STS); and
• Single Sign-On Service – (SSO).

URL

http://vanguard.business.gov.au/

The Challenge

To enable business-to-government online transactions to be conducted.

Established by

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
vanguard@innovation.gov.au

Started on

2006

Options Considered and Approach Taken

VANguard provides the following services:
* The VANguard User Authentication Service provides agencies and business with assurance of the authenticity of each party. Agencies redirect their business users to VANguard for authentication before they can access secure agency web sites or applications.
* The VANguard Signature Verification Service enables agencies to have PDF forms or XML-based content signed by business users and verified by VANguard.
* VANguard’s Timestamping Service provides independent, verifiable electronic evidence of the date and time of an electronic transaction.
* VANguard’s Security Token Service enables agency systems and business systems to conduct secure online transactions. Agencies and businesses obtain security tokens from VANguard to enable authentication.

VANguard represents an important step forward in progressing the Government’s online service delivery agenda by providing effective authentication mechanisms to enable secure business-to-government online transactions. Importantly, the development of VANguard as a dedicated service that can facilitate e‑authentication on a whole-of-government basis offers reduced cost and complexity for business by avoiding the need to meet different authentication requirements imposed by individual agencies.

Avoiding costly duplication of authentication solutions across government agencies offers major benefits from a government perspective. The VANguard service serves to insulate agencies from the technology used to authenticate business users and eliminates the requirement for agencies to manage Public Key Infrastructure credentials.

Wider Adoption

Two major government business initiatives rely on VANguard providing key infrastructure elements and underpinning authentication services. These are the Standard Business Reporting program (a multi-agency program involving the Treasury, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Taxation Office and state revenue offices, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics) and the Australian Business Number/Business Name project, specifically the Business Online Services project element.

More generally, VANguard has entered into working arrangements with Centrelink, the Department of Defence, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, the Australian Government Online Services Project, the Victorian Office of Small Business and the South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.

As VANguard usage is not mandated, successful expansion in the uptake of VANguard services has depended on effective dissemination of project information to other agencies and strategic involvement in government e-business initiatives such as Standard Business Reporting.

Categories

Topics: Business and Information & Communications Technology.

Types: Service delivery.

Jurisdictions: Federal.