Australia Forms Consortium To Work On A National Blockchain Platform

Australia’s data science research wing, Data61, has engaged the services of IBM as it looks to build the country’s first national blockchain. Dubbed, the Australian National Blockchain, the platform will represent the country’s new piece of infrastructure as part of the country’s digital economy push.

The platform will be open to everyone and should allow companies to use digitized contracts as well as exchange data and confirm the authenticity of various legal contracts.  Organizations will also be able to manage lifecycles of contracts right from negotiations to signing. The blockchain platform will also provide organizations with the ability to leverage the benefits of smart contracts in various business processes and events.

The Australia National Blockchain is to furnish organizations and businesses with smart legal contracts with smart clauses that can record external data sources as well as the Internet of Things device data. The blockchain is to be built with IBM which plans to work multinational law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, with offices around the country. It will be the first blockchain solution available to the public and businesses of all kinds.

“Technologies like blockchain are set to transform the legal industry and the wider business landscape as we know it. This presents a huge opportunity for agile and forward-thinking firms and has potential to deliver significant benefits to our clients and the business community as a whole,” said Natasha Blycha, from Herbert Smith Freehills.

This is not the first time that Data61 has ventured into the blockchain space, in 2017, the federal research agency delivered two comprehensive reports on how blockchain technology could be of great help in enhancing government operations as well as the country’s industrial sector. The agency expects blockchain technology to trigger productivity benefits in addition to driving local innovation.

The law firm, IBM, and Data61 will first test the blockchain pilot project before unveiling it to the public. Regulators, banks as well as law firms will be invited’ at the final hurdle to participate in the pilot program before its launch. The consortium is also open to working with other Australian companies to bring the ANB dream to reality.

IBM was selected for the ANB project in part because of its experience in building blockchain networks some of which are fully operational. The tech giant’s blockchain, as well as Cloud service, boasts of some of the highest levels of security crucial for regulated industries such as healthcare and government.