Objective

Systems for People is a program of work that is providing staff with access to the information and tools they need to do their jobs. The program is transforming the way department operates, including by:

• providing a single view of a client's dealings with the department
• establishing consistency in work processes and decision making, together with establishing effective record-keeping and quality assurance
• improving data quality, completeness and accuracy
• significantly improving decision making by providing staff with clearer operating instructions and appropriate decision-support tools.

Description

Systems for People is a four year (2006–10) technology-enabled business transformation program being implemented by the department as a result of the Palmer and Comrie recommendations in 2005. Systems for People aims to improve and modernise the department's information technology systems, develop nationally consistent business processes, provide a single view of clients across a range of business areas, introduce better quality control and provide for improved record keeping.

The early focus of the program was on improving the department's compliance, case management, detention and border security systems.

The focus for the remainder of the program will increasingly shift towards business transformation in the department's visa services, with the development of a Generic Visa Portal and associated business processes.

The total program budget over the four years, including related projects, is $659.1 million. The total spent on Systems for People and related projects from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2009 was $528 million.

The Systems for People program is being delivered under both outcomes, specifically Output group 1.7 and Output group 2.5.

Performance

2008–09 has been a significant year for the program with the successful delivery of four major releases in August 2008, October–December 2008, March 2009 and June 2009. Significant gains were made in a number of areas including:

• Border Security

  The department has transformed its border entry and security checking processes with enhancements to the Central Movement Alert List, the introduction of the new Maritime Crew Visa and the Border Security Portal which allows border security staff to access multiple systems from a single user interface. The Security Referral Service project was successfully delivered ensuring the more secure, timely and consistent electronic transfer of national security referrals from the department's visa processing system to the Attorney-General's Department. With more than 3000 registered users, the Security Referral Service was successfully deployed to all state and territory offices and offshore posts and has resulted in significant reductions in turn-around times for security assessments.

• Compliance, Case Management and Detention

  In October–December 2008, a range of new features to the Compliance, Case Management and Detention portals were delivered—such as Character, Ombudsman Review and Reporting and Ministerial Intervention—with an increased focus on the range of services provided to the client reflecting the principle of ‘one client, one case, many services'. In June, the department also incorporated the government's New Directions in Detention policy changes into relevant portals. These enhancements support an improved risk based approach to detention in line with the new detention values, improved business processes and decision making support for staff in relation to client placement, as well as strengthening the detention review framework. The enhancements provide a more holistic view of the department's interactions with the client and support fair, reasonable, humane and lawful decision making.

• Biometrics

  The department established the new Identity Resolution Centre in June 2009 which is at the forefront of identity management, harnessing specialist skills and systems to help stakeholders make decisions on complex identity-related issues. The centre consists of fingerprint experts as well as facial image comparison and biographic data specialists who work closely with other areas of the department. The Identity Resolution Centre also acts as a central point of contact for biometric data sharing with external agencies. Systems for People achieved a greater level of cross-department cooperation with improved data exchange with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ensuring a whole-of-government approach to identity management.

• Health Initiative Project

  This year also saw the introduction of globally consistent processing in health assessments with the introduction of the Health Assessment Portal to both onshore and offshore staff. Complementing this work was the introduction of improved health processing functionality, with panel doctors and radiologists being able to process a greater number of clients electronically, significantly reducing processing times. Addressing some of the recommendations from the ANAO audit ‘Administration of the Health Requirement of the Migration Act 1958', the risk-based decision making tool (Health Matrix) was updated to assist staff. Improvements were also made to compliance, monitoring and reporting of health related processing.

• Client search

  The department's client search capability was enhanced through the Client Search Portal. The Client Search Portal provides staff with a more holistic view of a client and their interactions with the department through the consolidation of client information from a number of different departmental systems into a common centralised client data repository—the Client Data Hub. This substantially increased the amount and quality of client-related information held within client records. The Client Search Portal currently accesses over 110 million client records.

• Client service

  The innovative Visa and Citizenship Wizards delivered in September 2008 and December 2008 respectively, provided new online self-service capability for clients, while the eVisitor service met the Australian Government's commitment to the European Union allowing EU nationals the option to electronically lodge visa applications. Phase one of the department's website redesign was also delivered and supported the introduction of the Wizards and improved ease of use for clients. Other projects which were delivered during this period were the government's changes in legislation in relation to same-sex couples; new system functionality and business processes for citizenship processing staff to support the changes to the citizenship test (see Output group 2.5); and system changes to support the abolition of the Temporary Protection and Temporary Humanitarian visas.

• DIAC—Centrelink Residence and Portability Datalink Project

  This joint initiative was successfully delivered in December 2008. It provides Centrelink with the means to collect (in order to evaluate and verify) residence information online from the department for clients claiming benefits, payments or other entitlements from Centrelink. The information helps Centrelink to determine if a client is eligible to receive Centrelink benefits or payments or to terminate payment for those becoming non-resident. The department's systems process on average more than 80 000 requests per day in under three seconds per request.

Awards

The Systems for People program was also recognised externally with the Visa and Citizenship Wizards receiving the prestigious 2009 eAward for Excellence in eGovernment presented by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. The eVisitor Service also won a Highly Commended Award. These awards recognised the most outstanding initiatives in eGovernment implemented in 2008–09.

Future of the program

The focus for the remainder of the program will increasingly be on the department's visa processing capability with the Generic Visa Portal which will complement the work the department is doing on visa simplification and deregulation. The department will also introduce globally consistent business practices in revenue receipting and financial management as well as improved and consistent enterprise correspondence services and further integration of the client search capability into other key systems.

Importantly, during the final year of the program the department will focus on transitioning key capabilities developed during the Systems for People program—such as business process modelling, solution visualisation, risk tiering and business rules—into business as usual. This will ensure that the significant investment made by the government will continue to deliver benefits to the business well beyond the end of the program in 2010.