Acting Registrar General Leslie Simon has rejected allegations of corruption within Papua New Guinea’s National Identification (NID) system, following recent media reports attributing the claims to Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Justin Tkatchenko.
In a press statement issued yesterday (5.11.26), Simon said the reports quoted the Minister as describing the NID system as corrupt and linking it to visa difficulties experienced by Papua New Guineans travelling to Australia.
Simon acknowledged challenges faced by citizens in obtaining visas but maintained that describing the entire Civil and Identity Registry system as corrupt was an inaccurate generalisation that risked undermining public confidence.
He said PNGCIR manages more than four million biometric records and faces occasional attempts at identity fraud, but such incidents should not be interpreted as evidence of systemic corruption.
Simon said strict verification procedures, including fingerprint matching, facial recognition and other security features, were in place to protect the integrity of the national identification system.
He also highlighted improvements introduced since March 2026 to address NID processing delays, with new application data entries now processed within 24 to 72 hours.
The Acting Registrar General further revealed ongoing discussions to introduce an electronic National Identity (e-NID) system through integration with the Government’s SevisPass digital platform.
Simon welcomed engagement with Australian authorities to demonstrate PNGCIR’s identity verification and security procedures.
While respecting the responsibility of public officials to raise legitimate concerns, he stressed that allegations against national institutions must be supported by verified facts, technical assessments and credible evidence.