DIMA Annual Report 1996-97

Secretary's Review - cost-recovery

During the past decade, the Department has increasingly been required to recover from clients the cost of its services.

A key Government initiative in 1996-97 was the introduction of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997.

This allows all the costs normally associated with providing a service (such as the cost of overheads) to be recovered and removes concern that a charge could inadvertently become unlawful because of fluctuations in client numbers.

In this context, the Government introduced a number of significant fee increases including those relating to migration and residence applications.

In 1996-97, some 35.5 per cent of the Department's outlays were recovered, compared to 17.9 per cent five years earlier.

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