New Delhi, Aug 8: Indian students planning to pursue higher education in Australia will have access to a more streamlined document verification process following the launch of ‘AAERI Verify’, a digital platform integrated with DigiLocker.
The initiative has been launched by the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI) in partnership with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Unveiled at the AAERI Annual Convention in New Delhi on August 7, the platform enables students to securely and digitally share verified academic, identity and financial documents with Australian higher education institutions.
The new system introduces two verification stages — the ‘Student Check’, conducted before the university application, and the ‘Sponsor Check’, carried out after an admission offer to verify financial documents.
With the student's consent, universities can access digitally signed documents issued by authorised institutions through DigiLocker. The system is expected to reduce dependence on physical paperwork, improve document authenticity checks and make the admission process more efficient.
The initiative could also provide relief to students and families dealing with the extensive documentation involved in overseas education. By enabling source-verified digital records, the platform aims to reduce delays and make the application process more transparent.
DigiLocker, a flagship Digital India initiative under MeitY, currently has more than 72 crore registered users and provides a secure platform for storing, accessing and sharing authenticated digital documents.
The AAERI Verify partnership marks an expansion of India's digital public infrastructure into the international education sector and could make document verification simpler and more reliable for Indian students seeking to study in Australia.