Indian students applying to universities in Australia will now be able to verify their academic, identity and financial documents through a faster, paperless digital process following a new partnership between the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI).
The collaboration has led to the launch of AAERI Verify, a digital credential-verification platform integrated with DigiLocker, India’s flagship Digital Public Infrastructure platform for secure storage and sharing of authenticated documents.
The platform was formally unveiled at the AAERI Annual Convention in New Delhi on August 7, 2026.
Faster Verification for Overseas Admissions
Document verification is an important part of the international university admission process, particularly for students who must submit academic certificates, identity documents and evidence of financial capacity.
Traditionally, many such checks have depended on scanned copies, physical documents and manual authentication, which can increase processing time and create opportunities for fraudulent submissions.
AAERI Verify seeks to replace much of this process with digital records obtained directly from authorised issuing institutions.
Through its integration with DigiLocker, students will be able to share authenticated digital documents with participating institutions after providing their consent.
Because the records originate from authorised issuers, universities and education representatives can verify their authenticity without relying solely on manually submitted copies.
Two-Stage Verification Process
The new system divides verification into two stages designed around the Australian university application process.
Stage 1 – Student Check: The student’s academic and identity credentials can be verified before the formal university application process begins.
Stage 2 – Sponsor Check: After the student receives an admission offer, the system can be used to verify the authenticity of financial documentation relating to the student or sponsor.
The two-stage structure is intended to identify documentation issues earlier in the application cycle while speeding up checks required after admission offers are issued.
Consent-Based Digital Access
A key feature of the platform is its consent-based architecture.
DigiLocker allows citizens to access and share digitally signed records issued by authorised organisations. Under the AAERI Verify arrangement, Australian higher-education institutions can receive source-verified records only after the student grants permission for the information to be shared.
This approach is expected to strengthen document authenticity while limiting unnecessary movement of physical copies and sensitive personal information.
It could also reduce the administrative burden on students, education representatives and universities handling large numbers of applications from India.
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Goes Global
NeGD Director J.L. Gupta said the initiative demonstrates how India’s Digital Public Infrastructure can be used to address practical challenges beyond domestic government services.
According to NeGD, integrating DigiLocker with AAERI Verify provides a secure and paperless mechanism that can simplify verification across the international admissions process.
The partnership is particularly significant because it extends a system originally developed around India’s Digital India programme into the overseas education ecosystem.
NeGD, established under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2009, supports the development and implementation of major digital-governance programmes and technology platforms across government.
Its digital infrastructure supports workflows involving organisations including the Union Public Service Commission, Ministry of External Affairs and NITI Aayog, among others.
DigiLocker Crosses 72 Crore Users
DigiLocker has grown into one of India’s largest digital public platforms.
According to the government, the service now has more than 72 crore registered users and enables citizens to receive, store, share and verify digitally signed documents issued by authorised institutions.
Instead of treating a scanned certificate as proof in itself, DigiLocker allows organisations to access digital records linked to the original issuing authority, considerably improving reliability.
The system has already been used extensively for documents such as educational certificates, driving licences, vehicle-registration records and other government-issued credentials.
Potential Boost for Indian Students
India remains one of the major sources of international students for Australian universities, making document verification an important part of the admission ecosystem.
The AAERI Verify platform could make this process more efficient by reducing repetitive paperwork and enabling participating institutions to confirm credentials much earlier.
For students, the change could mean fewer physical submissions, faster authentication and reduced delays caused by manual document checks.
For Australian institutions, source-verified digital documents could provide greater confidence in the authenticity of academic and financial credentials submitted during the admissions process.
The initiative also represents a broader development in India’s digital transformation: platforms built initially to simplify interactions between Indian citizens and domestic institutions are increasingly finding applications in international services.
With DigiLocker now being integrated into an overseas education-verification workflow, India’s Digital Public Infrastructure is beginning to move beyond domestic governance and into cross-border digital trust systems.
Source : PIB
