One application of this interoperability Hockey proposed was enabling the smartcard to be used at Eftpos outlets and automatic teller machines for people to access welfare payments instantly.

"When Cyclone [Larry] hit far North Queensland the government was taking wads of cash into town," he said.

Hockey is also on a mission to debunk the 'shock, horror' backlash and the numerous privacy concerns that a Human Services smartcard could harbor, and hence compromise, a person's sensitive information.

"It's quite a simple card [and] on the face of it the card contains less information than existing cards," he said. "People think by introducing a new card we will reduce the privacy of individuals, [but] it enhances privacy because a magnetic strip is notoriously unreliable."

Hockey displayed a mock-up of what the smartcard would look like, containing a person's photo and name on the front, with the name, signature and card number on the back. The embedded microchip will contain basic identity information and, according to Hockey, the only field the government controls is the concession status - for example, if a person is a pensioner.