Budget '09: Immigration gets IT boost

in brief The Department of Immigration and Citizenship was at pains to stress the savings gained from the completion of its Systems for People IT project in the Federal Budget tonight.

No less than eight mentions in the Outcomes section of DIAC's Budget papers said that savings over the forward years were due to efficiency savings and the termination of funding for Systems for People, which is due to be completed by 30 June 2010.

The cost for the final year of the project will be $33 million and is intended to deliver a single portal to staff and clients of DIAC. DIAC's technology partner for the $496 million overhaul is IBM, with other smaller providers including UXC, Fujitsu, EDS, Oracle, Siebel, and smaller suppliers Tibco, RuleBurst and Apis Computing.

The department also appeared to receive additional funding relating to operating technology expenses. "The government will provide $47.2 million over four years to develop and maintain DIAC's core information technology systems. This funding will support a number of systems including electronic visas, Border Entry Systems and the Integrated Client System Environment used for onshore visa processing," the Budget papers stated.