Plans to outsource visa processing are scary, former immigration official says

Source: The Guardian, 06/10/2018

Fears about ‘frightening’ potential for private provider to create
‘fast and slow lanes’
Visa applicants who cannot afford the higher processing charges could
end up coming to Australia on visitor visas to apply for other options
onshore. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP
A Department of Home Affairs plan to outsource visa processing will
lead to increased automation and “premium” services that could
undermine the integrity of the system, a former senior immigration
official has warned.
Abul Rizvi, a former departmental deputy secretary, told Guardian
Australia the potential for a private provider to create a fast and
slow lane for processing had “frightening” long-term implications and
the proposed use of applicants’ data for marketing purposes was
“appalling”.
Rizvi joins the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and the
Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia in expressing
concern about the outsourcing plan, which has not received a final
sign-off from the cabinet after months of testing the market for
expressions of interest.
In February Guardian Australia reported that departmental briefings to
industry had revealed that a successful private bidder could offset
the $1bn cost of a new visa processing system by raising revenue
through “premium services for high-value applicants”, different access
for those able to pay more, and “commercial value-added services”,
such as offers from banks, telcos and tourist operators.
Rizvi said he was “very concerned” about the prospect of premium
services because “there would inevitably be an incentive for the
company to be more facilitative with regard to subjective criteria for
applicants who have paid for the fast lane”.
“Any monopoly provider would want to maximise charges for the fast
lane and try to drive as many applicants as possible into that lane.”
He said applicants whocould not afford the higher charges were likely
to come to Australia on visitor visas and apply for other visas after
arrival, exacerbating “integrity problems” caused by the existing
backlog of people in Australia because of the department’s
“extraordinarily poor administration”.
In July, the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, boasted about a
decline in permanent migration, despite ndustry warning that the
government was “throttling back the rate of migration by stealth”
through longer wait times.
Rizvi predicted that outsourced visa processing would lead to tension
between the Department of Home Affairs’ increased use of “subjective
criteria” for certain visas and the private operator’s desire for
increased automation.
“The company or companies that win these tenders will want to automate
decision-making as much as possible to minimise costs.”
Rizvi said it was appalling that “extraordinarily personal
information” such as an applicant’s relationship status, job, income
and health could be used by a commercial firm for marketing purposes.
The chairwoman of the Federation of Ethnic Community Councils of
Australia, Mary Patetsos, said it would be “very concerned” about
commercialisation of applicant information. She also opposed measures
that could lead to an increased cost of visas, particularly for family
and partner visas.
“Australia has a long-standing reputation for its impartial, fair and
transparent immigration system,” she said. “It should not be put at risk.”
Patetsos warned that premium services “could undermine fairness”. “The
opportunity to bring family to Australia to live or visit for extended
periods should be available to all Australians �` not just the wealthy.”
She said it would be unacceptable for Australian families of limited
means to be denied family reunion, which was “integral to successful
settlement, social cohesion and wellbeing”.
The deputy national president of the CPSU, Lisa Newman, said a
two-tiered visa processing system “will lead to dangerous outcomes”,
with the operating company incentivised to to put its profits ahead of
the need to assess “gold-plated” visa applicants to the same standards
applied to those who could not afford to pay a premium.

“It would also give the company an incentive to further delay
processing times for regular customers to try to force them into
upgrading.”
She called on the Coalition to abandon the proposal.
The CPSU intends to campaign on the visa outsourcing issue at the next
federal election, targeting the immigration minister David Coleman’s
seat of Banks, and other electorates with a high number of Australians
born overseas, including in western Sydney.
Tender requests went to the market in July and there have been
industry briefings in Sydney, Canberra, San Francisco, Singapore and
Bengaluru, as well as consultation by the Department of Home Affairs
with its workforce.
Groups reportedly keen to bid include a joint venture between
Accenture and Australia Post, and a consortium involving Pacific Blue
Capital, Qantas Ventures, PwC and Ellerston Capital.
Pacific Blue Capital is run by Malcolm Turnbull’s former employee and
friend Scott Briggs. In September, Labor signalled it would pursue the
government’s planned outsourcing of the $1bn visa processing system in
Senate estimates and called on ministers linked to Briggs to recuse
themselves from consideration of the outsourcing proposal.