How the Department is Ensuring Its Staff are Well Trained and Supported

Staff have the skills and knowledge required to carry out departmental business

DIAC has created the National Training Branch to help develop a national training strategy to coordinate a consistent programme of training. A substantial leadership training programme is underway for all executive level staff to ensure they are equipped to lead staff through a process of major change. The College of Immigration has been established to provide training for individuals in key roles.

Enhanced compliance training has been underway since late 2005. Compliance officers are required to complete relevant training prior to undertaking field operations.

A Values and Standards Committee has been established to assist in ensuring that the department's operations reflect appropriate values and ethical standards. A practical tool known as IDEAL (Immigration Dilemmas, Ethics, Australian Public Service (APS) values and Leadership) has been developed through the Committee to guide staff in applying the APS Values and DIMA leadership behaviours in their everyday work.

The College of Immigration

The department's College of Immigration has been established to provide training for individuals in key roles. The college curriculum is being tailored to comply with the recommendations of the Palmer and Comrie inquiries. Mr Mick Palmer has also accepted an appointment as chair of the college board.

IT systems to provide easy access to relevant information

Following several reviews of the department's business information systems and needs, the Systems for People programme has been developed to overhaul the way the department uses technology to support its business. This new approach will provide role-based information portals for staff, a single view of a client's details, improved support for record-keeping and case management, and improved confidence in the integrity and consistency of data. A consortium led by IBM has been appointed as the strategic partner to assist with implementation.

Improved record-keeping to support business needs and legislative obligations

The department has implemented a range of initiatives to improve its record management capability following recommendations from a review by the National Archives of Australia. This has included an upgrade of the department's records management systems in mid-2006. Work now continues to ensure that the standard of record-keeping will be regularly reviewed and upgraded if necessary.

See Also:
Report from the Secretary
DIMA 12 Months After Palmer: on the move to improve
How the department is ensuring it deals with clients fairly and reasonably
How the department is becoming open and accountable