This use case allows a parent or guardian to present proof of guardianship and a child’s immunisation status using Verifiable Credentials (VCs), removing the burden of paperwork from both families and early childhood providers.
Many Early Childhood Education (ECE) providers in New Zealand require:
- Proof of legal guardianship
- Immunisation history for children enrolling in care
This process is typically manual and requires physical documentation or verification calls to government agencies. Using Decentralized Identity standards, government agencies like the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the Ministry of Health can issue Verifiable Credentials directly to a parent’s digital wallet. This streamlines enrolment and ensures that the information is:
- Trustworthy (signed by the source)
- Current (e.g., not revoked)
- Privacy-respecting (selective disclosure)
This use case is demonstrated using the fictional provider: Pūkeko Grove Early Learning.
| Objective | Enable a parent to enrol a child in ECE by digitally proving guardianship and immunisation. |
| Description | A parent uses a digital wallet to present credentials proving they are the child’s legal guardian and that the child is up to date with immunisations. |
| Actors | Parent/guardian; Child; DIA; Ministry of Health; Pūkeko Grove Early Learning. |
| Dependencies | Credentials have been issued to the parent from trusted authorities (DIA, Ministry of Health). |
| Preconditions | The parent has set up a digital wallet and obtained the relevant credentials. |
| Postconditions | The child is successfully enrolled in early learning with no paper-based processing required. |
sequenceDiagram
participant Parent
participant DIA
participant Ministry Of Health
participant Wallet
participant ECE as Pūkeko Grove Early Learning
Parent->>DIA: Request Guardianship VC
DIA-->>Wallet: Issue Guardianship VC
Parent->>Ministry Of Health: Request Immunisation VC
Ministry Of Health-->>Wallet: Issue Immunisation VC
Parent->>ECE: Begins child enrolment
ECE->>Parent: Request proof of guardianship & immunisation
Parent->>Wallet: Approve request & share VCs
Wallet-->>ECE: Present signed VCs
ECE->>DIA: Verify signatures & status
ECE->>Ministry Of Health: Verify signatures & status
DIA-->>ECE: VC valid
Ministry Of Health-->>ECE: VC valid
ECE-->>Parent: Enrolment complete
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