Australians spend an estimated 9 million hours each year executing and processing more than 3.8 million statutory declarations, also known as stat decs. 

Historically, these documents have been strictly paper-based, requiring they be witnessed in person and signed in ink.

Digital stat decs could save over $156 million each year, hundreds of thousands of hours and be a productivity winner for the private sector.

Legislation introduced today by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will make permanent the temporary measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic allowing stat decs to be made through the use of electronic signatures and video-link witnessing.

The Bill also enables people to digitally execute a stat dec using myGov and the Australian Government’s Digital ID app, myGovID.

Read more on the Finance Minister website.