Govt plots digital visas

THE Government’s plan to take incoming passenger cards online (TD 19 Oct) is part of an overarching “permissions capability” which would digitise and unify a range of immigration systems including visa processing.

Formal tender documents have now been released for the project, which it’s envisaged will be awarded in Mar next year.

The Department of Home Affairs is seeking a qualified provider to “collaboratively design the Permissions Capability architecture, suitable for whole of government applications”.

The first “use cases” for the new system would be the previously announced Digital Passenger Declaration, as well as a Simple Visa Type application.

The Digital Passenger Declaration would be delivered in the third quarter of 2021, while the Simple Visa system would be implemented before Dec 2021, the briefing document suggests.

The Department noted the existing ageing technology systems which underpin current visa processing, with a lack of flexibility, limitations on fraud detection, data sharing limitations, manual processing & “multiple customer pain points”.

The proposed Simple Visa product would be an easy-touse digital application available for non-citizen travellers who meet certain criteria, facilitating movement across borders and supporting processes such as identity management, risk profiling and health information.

Other possible future uses for the platform would cover more complex visas, aviation security accreditations, police checks and tobacco import licences.

An industry briefing will be convened via video conference from Canberra next week - more info at tenders.gov.au.