Contents | Video introduction |Overview | Report on performance | Management and accountability | Financial statements | Other mandatory information

As I prepared my review last year, the department had just embarked on a comprehensive agenda of reform and improvement. This was in response to the criticism and concerns expressed by Mr Mick Palmer AO APM in his Inquiry into the Circumstances of the Immigration Detention of Cornelia Rau. The scale of change I have asked of my staff in 2005-06 has been substantial and challenging and, while I believe we are making good progress, there is always more to do.

Much of what we have achieved has been specifically about the way we deliver our programmes. Many aspects of our change agenda will resonate across the public sector, especially for large organisations with a service delivery focus.

The Palmer Report, and the later Comrie Report into the Vivian Alvarez case, focused on leadership, governance, training, systems support, the relationship between policy development and implementation, client service delivery, and records management. Later reports by the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Australian National Audit Office have highlighted similar important issues.

I indicated in last year's annual report that we had adopted three major themes to guide us in becoming the kind of organisation we need to be. Underpinning all the work we have undertaken in 2005-06 and in the DIMA Plan 2006-07, these themes are:

• an open and accountable organisation
• fair and reasonable dealings with our clients
• well trained and supported staff.

These themes are summed up in our motto - people our business .

Given the scale of the changes we are implementing and the interest this has generated, we have prepared a separate summary about how we have developed our reform and improvement programme. I believe that there are lessons for all large organisations - indeed, we have drawn from the experiences of others as we have developed and implemented our strategy.

We are focussed on 'enriching Australia through the well-managed entry and settlement of people'. This is our purpose statement - it is how we seek to make a difference as we go about our jobs each day.

At the same time as implementing major change and improvement, we have continued to work hard to deliver the government's migration, refugee, humanitarian, citizenship, multicultural affairs, settlement, immigration compliance, and immigration detention programmes.

There have been substantial challenges in 2005-06, as there always are in programmes that deal with the lives of millions of individuals. There have also been significant achievements which I have summarised here and that are discussed in more detail in the body of this annual report.

Migration programme

On 25 July 2006 the Minister announced the delivery of the largest Migration Programme for several decades at close to the planning level of 143 000 places. This included a Skill Stream of over 97 000 places - the largest Skill Stream ever - and the balance was made up of migrants under the Family Stream. The programme met the government's objective of increasing the extent to which the Skill Stream is targeted to the needs of Australian industry and employers. Almost 60 per cent of the Skill Stream was made up of migrants who held visas in targeted categories, including employer sponsored migrants, state sponsored migrants, and migrants with skilled occupations listed as being in high demand.

Temporary business visas

The temporary business (subclass 457) visa programme has now been in place for 10 years. This visa replaced an earlier temporary work visa (subclass 414) which was the subject of a review in 1994-95. In 2005-06 some 39 800 subclass 457 visas were granted to primary applicants - an increase of around 42 per cent on the previous year. This growth highlights the value of the programme to the many employers facing substantial skill shortages, given Australia's low unemployment levels.

This programme received significant public scrutiny during the year, particularly concerning alleged exploitation of a number of overseas workers. We have concentrated on ensuring all allegations are properly investigated, working closely with other Australian Government and state agencies.

Temporary entry

We made a number of enhancements to the online Tourist visa (e-676), Working Holiday Maker (WHM) and Work and Holiday programmes during the year. The e-676 visa has been expanded to all countries eligible for the electronic travel authority, enabling easy access to longer stay tourist visas. From November 2005, the WHM programme was expanded to allow visa holders to be granted a further stay of one year if they have undertaken seasonal work in regional Australia. The Work and Holiday programme has been expanded to Chile and further agreements with Turkey and Bangladesh are expected to start in 2006-07.

Our commitment to refugees

Australia continues to make an outstanding contribution to the resolution of world refugee problems through the Humanitarian Programme. Our offshore refugee resettlement programme continues to rank in the top three resettlement programmes in the world, along with those of the United States of America and Canada.

In 2005-06, we granted over 14 000 visas under our Humanitarian Programme with over 12 700 of these granted offshore. Our offshore resettlement activities took place in some of the most troubled regions of the world, with our intake coming from Africa, the Middle East, South West Asia, and South East Asia. Nearly 1000 visas were granted under the Woman at Risk programme, exceeding our nominal target and achieving the highest intake of this particularly vulnerable group since the inception of the programme.

I had the opportunity in June 2006 to go with the Minister to visit a refugee camp in Thailand on the Myanmar border to see first-hand the situation of refugees there and the good work done by our staff overseas in difficult conditions. Australia's resettlement activities there, along with those of other countries, are clearly giving new homes and new hope to people who have been living in camps for many years.

In June 2005, the Prime Minister announced that we would complete all primary assessments of applications for permanent protection visas by temporary protection visa holders by the end of October 2005. We met this commitment, finalising 3095 applications by that date. A small number remained unfinalised at that time because of factors outside our control.

The Prime Minister also announced that, in respect of new applications for protection visas, decisions would be made within three months of receipt. We achieved this for the vast majority of new applications. I continue to report regularly to the Minister who reports to Parliament on these issues.

Of the 3300 new protection visa applications lodged in Australia during the year, 50 were made by unauthorised boat arrivals. The caseload included a number of high profile cases.

Settlement

Several key recommendations of the Report of the Review of Settlement Services for Migrants and Humanitarian Entrants were implemented in 2005-06. On 1 October 2005 we established new service delivery arrangements to provide settlement services under the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS) with the letting of 20 contracts across Australia. Enhancements included strengthening coordination across IHSS service delivery and an assessment of each entrant's needs, informing development and implementation of case coordination plans.

The second key area of reform was delivered with the design and implementation of the Settlement Grants Programme, which combined the funding previously made available to the Community Settlement Services Scheme and to Migrant Resource Centres and Migrant Service Agencies. Grants under the new programme are to begin on 1 July 2006 and are targeted to address key settlement needs identified through a comprehensive settlement service planning process.

Multicultural affairs

Harmony Day 2006 received a substantial increase in public support (94 per cent more than in 2005), with about 300 000 Australians participating in a record number of Harmony Day events. Many of the 10 Living in Harmony partnerships managed in 2005-06 focused on enhancing community relations in response to significant external issues, such as the July London bombings and the Cronulla riots in December.

We completed a comprehensive evaluation of cultural diversity policy and programmes in
2005-06, informing decisions on future funding for these programmes. We have been given a total of $47.9 million over four years, made up of $15.1 million to support the National Action Plan to Build on Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security (NAP) initiatives and $32.8 million for cultural diversity policy and programmes.

Building on social cohesion, harmony and security

In September 2005, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) held a Special Meeting on Counter-Terrorism at which it asked the Ministerial Council on Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (MCIMA) to develop and implement a National Action Plan (NAP) to deal with the emerging issues of extremism and the promotion of violence and intolerance in Australia. We were given $5.9 million to develop the plan and undertake a range of related work, including liaison with the Muslim community and community partnership projects.

We worked closely with MCIMA to develop the NAP for the Australian Government, and state and territory governments based on the Statement of Principles agreed at the Prime Minister's meeting with leaders of Australia's Muslim communities in August 2005 as well as meetings between state and territory leaders and faith and community leaders. The NAP was endorsed by MCIMA and is to be submitted to COAG in August 2006. It is a strategic initiative that builds on existing cultural diversity policies and programmes at all levels of government, incorporates research findings from Australian and overseas studies, and is strongly informed by community input. A total of 58 NAP related projects had started in 2005-06 and 20 of these had been completed with positive outcomes. In July 2006, the Parliamentary Secretary is to announce $35 million in funding over four years to support a range of important NAP initiatives.

Border security

We work closely with other Australian Government agencies to ensure the security of Australia's borders, as outlined below.

Torres Strait

The work of our network of 28 Movement Monitoring Officers in the Torres Strait is highly valued. These officers play a critical role in monitoring the flow of traditional visitors from Papua New Guinea, and reporting on any other people movements in the region. The officers are recruited locally and based on various islands in the Torres Strait.

The loss of the Immigration Response Vessel Malu Sara in October 2005 was a tragedy that deeply affected our staff and Torres Strait communities. A report into the incident was released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) in May 2006. We have already started addressing the issues identified in this report as well as those resulting from a review of our operations in the Torres Strait that was undertaken by an independent consultant. We have taken action to further strengthen our management in Northern Queensland including in relation to Torres Strait issues.

Illegal foreign fishers

Illegal fishing in Australia's northern waters has increased dramatically in the last five years and is primarily driven by commercial interests. This increase poses significant risks for fisheries conservation, the environment, quarantine, security, and immigration.

The 2006-07 Budget provided an additional $388.9 million to combat illegal foreign fishing in Australia's southern and northern waters. The package is part of a whole-of-government response drawing on the expertise of more than 10 Australian Government agencies to ensure that all risks are appropriately mitigated.

We continued our role of onshore post-apprehension detention and repatriation of illegal foreign fishers. In 2005-06, 2888 illegal foreign fishers were apprehended for alleged foreign fishing offences. For those fishers not being prosecuted, the average turnaround time was 25 days. We have been progressively enhancing the immigration detention centre in Darwin and a new 250 bed capacity compound is due to open in August 2006.

Television's Border Security

The Channel 7 programme, Border Security, continues to draw record numbers of viewers each week it is broadcast. We believe it is showing the complexity of the work of our staff and how they approach the problems with compassion and common sense within the law.

Commonwealth Games

We made a major contribution to the success of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne by ensuring the smooth entry of competitors, officials, and visitors. Around 7000 Commonwealth Games travel authorities were issued to participants and officials, and we placed officers in key locations overseas to make sure travel was trouble free. I was delighted to receive strong commendations from the Games' organisers noting their appreciation of our work.

Regional movement alert list

Our border management technology and expertise are recognised internationally. We continued to provide leadership and support in strengthening border systems and processes in the region, including the development, implementation, and expansion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Regional Movement Alert List (RMAL) System. On 31 March 2006 when New Zealand joined Australia and the United States of America in the RMAL pilot, RMAL became a multilateral data sharing initiative.

International cooperation

We continue to pursue a highly active programme of international engagement at global, regional, and bilateral levels. Particular highlights during the year were our involvement in the work of the Global Commission on International Migration, which reported to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, and other work in the lead up to the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development to be held in New York in the second half of 2006.

Regionally, we continued to forge strong partnerships. Apart from our effective bilateral cooperation, we encourage, and actively involve ourselves in, regional collaboration. We participated for the first time in the Directors-General of Immigration meeting process of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), as a dialogue partner. This reflects our increasing integration into regional processes. We were actively involved in the work of the Asia-Pacific Consultations process to discuss the positions of Asia-Pacific countries in relation to the UN High Level Dialogue. We were also involved in a Bali process workshop on immigration intelligence cooperation.

Client service improvement programme

On 2 June 2006, the Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary launched the client service improvement programme, and we were pleased that many key stakeholders were able to attend that event. The launch showcased the outcomes of many of the initiatives begun as part of the response to the Palmer and Comrie Reports, with the emphasis on the four elements of the improved client service programme - 'our commitment', 'our presentation', 'helping you', and 'hearing you'. A new Client Service Charter and an increased emphasis on responding to client service feedback were two key elements of the programme.

Systems for People

Both the Palmer and Comrie Reports were very critical of our information technology systems and the level of support they provide to our staff in their decision-making roles. Four reviews - business information needs, IT governance, project and change management, IT platforms and records management - were undertaken and have informed the Systems for People systems improvement and business transformation programme.

The programme has been allocated $495 million in new and redirected funding over four years to deliver role-based portals for staff, a single view of a client's details, better record-keeping, better case management, effective support of quality assurance processes, and ultimately, improved confidence in the integrity and consistency of data.

IBM has been appointed as a strategic partner to help implement Systems for People. Projects will be rolled out in regular releases, starting in July 2006 with a new Internet site. The new site offers our clients and other stakeholders easier access to our key products, and our first major portal release is planned for April 2007.

Compliance programme

The Palmer and Comrie Reports were highly critical of our management of compliance activities and the lack of a holistic case management framework. Addressing these criticisms has been a high priority for us in 2005-06, as outlined below.

Development of the first Onshore Compliance Strategic Plan

This plan sets out clear risk based areas of focus for operational compliance activities and establishes a balance between prevention, deterrence, and enforcement activities. For 2006-07, the plan will be expanded to cover all aspects of the onshore compliance programme.

Detention Review Managers

We have put Detention Review Managers (DRMs) in place to ensure decisions to detain people under the Migration Act 1958 are made lawfully and reasonably. The DRMs - senior officers in our state and territory network - review the initial detention decision and continue to review the cases of people in immigration detention on an ongoing basis to ensure their detention remains lawful and reasonable, and that the person's case is being actively managed.

Case management and Community Care pilot

As part of our commitment to fair and reasonable dealings with clients, we introduced a new case management service delivery approach for vulnerable clients from the end of January 2006. The case management service was initially established in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland and will be established in the remaining states and territories in the first half of 2006-07.

On 24 May 2006, we initiated a Community Care Pilot in NSW and Victoria with the Australian Red Cross acting as the lead agency for the provision of community assistance to help vulnerable clients in the community. We also engaged the International Organization for Migration to provide information and counselling services to help prepare clients for their immigration outcome.

Identity issues

The Palmer and Comrie Reports raised major concerns about the way we deal with identity issues. In response, we are implementing an Identity Management Strategy that will improve the way client identity information is managed. It includes stronger identity checking processes and the collection and use of biometric data. Significant advances were made in 2005-06 including the development of the Identity Services Repository to hold biographical and proof-of-identity document information, travel documents, facial images, and scanned identity documents. We have selected Unisys to provide biometric solutions and services over the next three years.

In the past year the National Identity Verification and Advice Section was expanded to provide better support for our officers seeking to correctly establish the identity of clients encountered in the field and in detention. At the same time, our Law Enforcement Liaison Unit was strengthened and its procedures reviewed and improved. The unit is the initial point of contact for all requests by law enforcement agencies for assistance in locating missing persons. During the past 12 months, the unit has streamlined its processes, improved record-keeping and accountability, and reduced response times.

Immigration status service

During the year we established a 24/7 Immigration Status Service to help Australian-based police services determine a person's immigration status. The roll out started in February 2006 and was complete by June 2006, replacing local state-by-state arrangements. The service is being well received with close to 2000 calls up to the end of June 2006.

Detention operations

In June 2005, the Prime Minister also announced changes to the way immigration detention is managed to allow the detention of families with children to take place in the community with conditions set to meet individual circumstances. By the end of July 2005, we made sure all families with children were moved from immigration detention centres into alternative detention arrangements.

As at 30 June 2006, there were 749 people in immigration detention. Thirty four per cent were illegal foreign fishers, and of the remainder, 80 per cent had been detained as a result of compliance action after they had either overstayed their visa or had their visa cancelled because they had breached visa conditions. The current caseload also reflects the fact that the majority of asylum seekers arrive in Australia with a valid visa and live in the community while they pursue their claims. At the end of June 2006 approximately 15 per cent of people in immigration detention were seeking asylum, or seeking a merits or judicial review of a decision in relation to their application for a protection visa.

Onshore Detention Strategy

We have reviewed our longer-term detention requirements and have started implementing a new, more cost-effective, Onshore Detention Strategy to provide a more appropriate environment for people held in immigration detention.

We will shortly be opening a new residential housing centre in Sydney, and the new Perth residential housing centre is due for occupation in December 2006. There will be new, smaller, hostel-style Immigration Transit Accommodation Centres for short term, low risk detainees in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. Immigration detention centres at Woomera in South Australia and at Singleton in New South Wales are no longer required and they will be returned to the Department of Defence.

In line with our duty of care obligations, we are improving our detention accommodation and services. We have made upgrades to immigration detention centres that include improved areas for sport and recreation, upgraded facilities for visitors, the removal of razor wire, and better health services.

Baxter Plan

The plan for infrastructure improvements at the Baxter Immigration Detention Centre goes well beyond the recommendations made in the Palmer Report. Improvements include the installation of a new visitors processing centre (VPC) as well as sporting and recreational facilities. The new VPC (which became operational in December 2005), and front entrance landscaping have improved the entry to the centre for visitors and staff, providing an enhanced, people-friendly environment. The new sporting facilities contribute significantly to the variety of activities available in the centre, improving the health and well-being of the people in immigration detention.

Detention Health Advisory Group

We established the Detention Health Advisory Group to provide the necessary independent expert advice to design, develop, implement, and monitor health care services for people in detention centres and related facilities. A priority for the group is to ensure more open and accountable provision of health and mental health care, through the development of service standards that can be measured and monitored. This group complements the work of the long-standing Immigration Detention Advisory Group, which provides valuable advice and assistance on a range of immigration detention issues.

Reduction in the active litigation caseload

There was a substantial reduction in active cases before the courts and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2005-06 (from 3615 cases to 2518 cases). A combination of factors was responsible, including decreasing numbers of applications for onshore protection visas, the clearance of backlogs at the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal, and increased judicial resources. We expect this trend to continue, although at a slower pace during 2006-07.

External scrutiny

Later in this annual report we provide detailed information on external scrutiny of the department. Developing close and productive relationships with the range of agencies, which have a role in relation to the scrutiny of the department, has been a key priority in the past year. I have met several times during the year with the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Privacy Commissioner, and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner to ensure there is an open dialogue on issues. I am delighted that the Commonwealth Ombudsman is represented on a number of our governance and advisory bodies, including the Values and Standards Committee and the DIMA College Advisory Board.

Machinery of government change

On 27 January 2006, responsibility for Indigenous Affairs was transferred to the re-named Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA). On 28 February 2006, we transferred the unspent 2005-06 administered appropriation to FaCSIA along with the administration of the Grants Management System. This system coordinates the delivery of grants previously administered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), to indigenous organisations across five Australian Government agencies. This transition was completed without disruption to service.

All transfers were completed in 2005-06 and there are no outstanding financial matters between the two departments.

College of Immigration

In response to the Palmer Report we created a new National Training Branch and the DIMA College of Immigration to better coordinate training and improve the quality of training. The college focuses on the development of individuals for key roles, which by their nature, require certain knowledge, skills, and judgement before the powers relating to roles are exercised.

The college will ensure that the training and development, provided for those key roles, are subject to external validation and, where appropriate, accreditation. The college will also ensure that individuals undergo a process of assessment that provides assurance they can satisfactorily perform their assigned roles. The first pilot programme for the college i starting on 3 July 2006 and up to 200 staff will participate in the programme over the next 12 months.

The college will be overseen by an independent board, which will be chaired by Mr Mick Palmer AO APM. The Chair will be joined by other external members of the board, including noted academics and a representative of the Ombudsman's Office. The college framework will provide for external scrutiny and validation of the training it provides and the college will be seeking expressions of interest for an educational institution as a partner in its operation early in 2006-07.

Executive leadership programme

We have placed considerable emphasis on the development of our executive level management skills over the past 12 months, developing a one week Executive Leadership Programme aimed at improving their skills in managing change and leading staff. Over 500 staff members have already participated and the programme which will continue to run during 2006-07.

We have also commenced planning for a Senior Executive Service (SES) development strategy to support SES staff to build their leadership capability, within the context of our leadership model and the Australian Public Service Commission Senior Leadership Capability Framework, and further to support our SES staff in leading our change agenda.

The year ahead

During 2006-07 we will continue to focus on implementing the reforms and improvements we began in 2005-06, delivering on new priorities announced in the 2006-07 Budget, and providing quality services to our many clients.

We are embedding a strong, values-driven, leadership, and planning culture in the department, through the development and implementation of the DIMA Plan 2006-07 and associated divisional and service delivery plans.

Leadership development of both Senior Executive and Executive Level officers will continue to strengthen our capacity to support the significant change programme.

The Systems for People initiative represents an opportunity for business transformation and improvement and will be far-reaching in its impact across the department. The first portals scheduled for implementation in April 2007 will mark a radical improvement in the systems support we provide for staff and clients.

A new collective agreement will be negotiated with staff. It will be focused on supporting the reform and improvement agenda and our strategic priorities, while ensuring we offer a competitive working environment for staff.

We will continue to work on whole-of-government initiatives, such as:

• improving the coordinated delivery of settlement services for refugee and humanitarian entrants
• measures to address illegal foreign fishing and wider border security
• planning for the arrival in Australia of thousands of people attending APEC 2007, and World Youth Day in 2008.

Last year I said that we would be judged on what we have achieved. The highlights I have set out above are, I believe, clear evidence that we are moving ahead on our reform and improvement programme, and are continuing to deliver strongly on the government's initiatives. There is much more to do, and we are yet to receive further reports from the Ombudsman on cases referred to him for investigation. However, I am confident we are building a strong organisation that is committed to excellence and success.

Andrew Metcalfe
Secretary