SmartGate...a faster way to clear Customs (on trial)

[Lindsay Wilson]

The Platinum QFF's from this Forum will have received an email today as follows - perhaps in time it will be available in BNE, as well as to the other 99% of QFF's :? . But FWIW, it read:

A smarter way through passport control in Sydney and Melbourne

* avoid the queues at passport control

* less than 2 minutes to enrol


As a Platinum Frequent Flyer, you are probably familiar with the passport checks when arriving in Australia.

You may also have heard about Australian Customs' SmartGate - an identity verification system that takes just 20 seconds to process a traveller's arrival information.

SmartGate has been successfully trialed by Qantas crew since November 2002.

As part of this ongoing trial, Australian Customs is now inviting Qantas' most frequent flyers to use SmartGate kiosks upon arrival at Sydney and Melbourne international airports.

How does SmartGate work?

SmartGate is a fully automated face-recognition system that compares a traveller's face with their stored image when they present their passport at a SmartGate kiosk.

It will verify with a high degree of accuracy whether the passport belongs to the person presenting it.

SmartGate is not a response to world events, nor is it a surveillance system; it has been developed simply to streamline arrivals procedures for the ever-growing numbers of international airline passengers.

See the box at right for how to enrol in the SmartGate trial.

To find out more about SmartGate, visit Australian Customs

You'll find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the trial at qantas.com

If you have any further questions about SmartGate, you may email smartgate@customs.gov.au

Be one of the first

You can enrol in this voluntary trial at the First Class Qantas Club lounges in the Sydney and Melbourne international terminals, from November 9.

Simply take your passport to the specially marked SmartGate enrolment station.

The process takes just two minutes and you will be ready to use SmartGate within 24 hours.

You may enrol during the following times:

Sydney - 9.00am to 11.00am and 3.00pm to 5.00pm, 7 days

Melbourne - 8.30am to 10.30am and 3.30pm to 5.30pm, 7 days

These times may vary depending on demand.

The enrolment period is expected to close on 24 December 2004, but may close earlier, depending on interest.

The trial is open to Australian passport holders 18 years and over and requires that you be physically able to stand at a SmartGate kiosk to have your face photographed.


I went through MEL this morning (on my way back from PER), alas before I got this email (as I'm sure I could have changed flights to an Intl domestic sector). Now I am seriously looking to change future SYD or MEL flights to try this out...

[NM]

Yes, I probably would use it since the registration process seems fast and painless, and I expect it will become the norm in the future anyway. However, in my experience it is not likely to help me too much as I rarely travel internationally with on carry-on luggage (only done that once that I can remember) and I have always cleared immigration processing before my bags arrive.

But it will be good to know that if the queues at the normal passport control desk are long, that I am going to get through faster by having registered for this new process.

[shillard]

That's the real draw-card, the ability to waltz through when the place looks like a zoo.

Agreed, it's very rare that you can find your bags waiting for you on the carousel - even on a busy day. But we can live in hope...

[alien]

They state its not a surveillance system however by scanning someones face and using recognition software to identify the person coming through a check point I would argue that this is some kind of surveillance.

They actually contradict themselves on a couple of pages:

While SmartGate cannot determine someone's identity, it can verify that a person presenting a passport is the owner of that passport, to a high degree of certainty
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4421

with this

what is smartgate?
SmartGate is a secure and simple system that verifies a person's identity, using face- recognition technology. Used at the Customs control point in an Australian international airport, SmartGate compares a traveller's face with their stored image when they present their passport. If there is a successful match, immigration and customs checks are made by computer to ensure that the border crossing is legitimate.
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4243

[serfty]

Yeah, the same kind of surveillance as is performed when the Customs officer looks at your face

[Alan in CBR]

They actually contradict themselves on a couple of pages:

While SmartGate cannot determine someone's identity, it can verify that a person presenting a passport is the owner of that passport, to a high degree of certainty
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4421

with this

what is smartgate?
SmartGate is a secure and simple system that verifies a person's identity, using face- recognition technology. Used at the Customs control point in an Australian international airport, SmartGate compares a traveller's face with their stored image when they present their passport. If there is a successful match, immigration and customs checks are made by computer to ensure that the border crossing is legitimate.
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4243

Not really a contradiction - there's a subtle distinction between "verify" and "determine".

Verify: Scan the person's face, compare it with the image in the database corresponding to the presented passport number, and tell the authorities if they match.
Determine: Scan the person's face, check the database (or the Big Brother database), and tell the authorities who this person is.

[NM]

Anyone done this yet? I'll be in the SYD F lounge in the right hours for registration on Monday morning so will be looking for the desk.

[Bob]

They are right about the first part - registration is painless. Less than 2 minutes. Now I can't wait for my return flight to Oz to try it out. Only problem is that by then there will probably be a lengthy queue of hopeful QF Plats lined up trying to make it work. :roll:

[NM]

And in all the excitement of browsing the bar at the SYD F lounge on Monday, and taking lots of photos from one the best airport vantage points, I completely forgot to seek out the registration desk . Oh well, my international arrival will be back to BNE, so I could not use it this time anyway :roll: .

[redrat]

Hey Guys,
I used the system flawlessly coming back from AKL last Thursday.
Have to fly coach these days but that just means a little more time waiting to exit the a/c. Not in the usual rush to get to the front of the customs queue, I just saunter down the nearly empty row to the new recognition booth while fielding questions from some J class businessmen. "How did YOU get this instead of us?" I did the trick with the camera and the gate opened. My luggage even came off the carousel a short time later, proceeded through the customs x-ray machines & then discovered much to my disgust the one flaw in my great scheme - waited 40 minutes for the long-term carpark bus.
It was even more galling to see one bus sail past with the VB people in it.