For accountants and advisers sending BGLiD verification requests via Firm Verify or CAS 360
Contents
1. Supported document types
| Document | Accepted? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Driver's Licence (light vehicle) — physical card only | ✔ Yes | Standard car licence (class C). Card number and licence number must be legible. Digital driver's licence apps are not accepted. |
| Australian Passport | ✔ Yes | Must be current (not expired). |
| Australian Medicare Card | ✔ Yes* | *Only accepted as a secondary document alongside an Australian Passport or Driver's Licence. Cannot be used on its own. See Medicare below. |
| New Zealand Passport | ✘ No* | *Accepted in limited cases where the holder meets specific Australian residency criteria. Contact BGL Support before attempting. |
| Non-Australian Passport | ✘ No* | *Only accepted if the contact holds a current Australian visa registered with the Department of Home Affairs. See Foreign Passports below. |
| Heavy Vehicle Licence (HR, HC, MC) | ✘ No | Not supported. Ask the contact to use an Australian Passport or standard car licence instead. |
| Digital Driver's Licence (app-based, e.g. NSW/VIC) | ✘ No | Not supported. The contact must present their physical card. |
| Overseas Driver's Licence (US, UK, EU, etc.) | ✘ No | Not supported. |
| Expired Documents | ✘ No | Any expired document will result in an automatic failure. |
2. Medicare card — how it works as a secondary document
A Medicare card is a secondary document only. You can add it to a BGLiD request, but it needs to be paired with a primary document — either an Australian Passport or Driver's Licence. On its own, it won't work.
| Combination | Accepted? |
|---|---|
| Medicare card + Australian Passport | ✔ Yes |
| Medicare card + Australian Driver's Licence | ✔ Yes |
| Medicare card only (no primary document) | ✘ No |
For full details on the Medicare verification step, see the CAS 360 Help Centre article: Medicare — Australia.
3. Foreign passports — how the check works
Conditions for acceptance
A non-Australian passport will only work if two things are true:
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The contact holds a current Australian visa, and |
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The passport details (number, name, date of birth) match the visa grant record held by the Department of Home Affairs. |
Visitors, people on expired visas, and anyone whose passport details don't match the Home Affairs record will fail. Even for legitimate visa holders, it's not a guarantee — it depends on whether the details in the system align exactly.
Why foreign passports involve more steps
Australian passports hit the Government's Document Verification Service (DVS) directly — it's a database match that comes back in seconds.
Foreign passports can't go through the DVS. The system has to do more work:
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Document capture and OCR. The contact uploads a photo of their passport. The system runs optical character recognition (OCR) and authenticity checks to read the details and confirm the document is genuine. |
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Biometric liveness check. The contact completes a live selfie to match their face against the passport photo. |
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VEVO check. The system queries the Department of Home Affairs' Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) to confirm the contact's visa status and establish their identity records within Australia. This is what satisfies the requirement for a government-verified data source under AML/CTF obligations. |
That's three steps instead of one, which is why foreign passport verifications take longer and are more likely to fail on photo quality or biometrics than Australian document checks.
Who this applies to
| Contact type | Can they use a foreign passport? |
|---|---|
| Foreign national on a current Australian visa | Possibly — depends on whether their passport details match the Home Affairs visa record. |
| Visitor or tourist (short-stay visa) | Generally no — short-stay visas are unlikely to satisfy the VEVO check requirement. |
| Expired visa holder | No. |
| New Zealand citizen | Limited cases only — contact BGL Support before attempting. |
4. What to do if your contact has no supported document
BGLiD electronic verification isn't available for every contact. If someone can't provide an Australian Driver's Licence, Australian Passport, or an eligible visa-registered foreign passport, you'll need to verify them manually.
In that case:
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Conduct manual identity verification in accordance with your AML/CTF program requirements. |
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Record the manual verification outcome in CAS 360 / Firm Verify using the manual verification fields. |
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Contact BGL Support if you are unsure how to record a manual verification result in the system. |
5. Understanding Australian Driver's Licence fields
Australian Driver's Licences carry two separate numbers. BGLiD requires the Card Number — not the Licence Number. People mix these up constantly, and it's the most common reason a check fails.
| Field | Where it appears | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Licence Number | Front of card, labelled "Licence No." (label varies by state) | Your unique licence identifier. Stays the same across renewals. |
| Card Number Required | Front or back of card, labelled "Card No." (location varies by state) | Changes each time a new card is issued. BGLiD uses this to confirm the card is current. |
Example: Queensland Driver Licence (sample card). Card number location and label vary by state — see the related article below for a full state-by-state breakdown.