The Department of Home Affairs has suggested using face scans to confirm people's age before they watch online pornography and to restrict access to gambling sites.

The department has suggested checking ages by matching a person's photo with a document already logged with Home Affairs, such as a driver's licence.

Home Affairs wants to restrict underage access to online pornography and gambling using facial recognition technology. Credit:Bloomberg

"This could assist in age verification, for example by preventing a minor from using their parent's driver licence to circumvent age verification controls," it wrote to a parliamentary inquiry into age verification for online wagering and online pornography.

The United Kingdom this month abandoned plans to introduce a nationwide age verification system for online pornography, after years of technical troubles and concerns from privacy campaigners.