IBM scores AU$495 million Immigration deal - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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IBM scores AU$495 million Immigration deal

By Steven Deare, ZDNet Australia
June 19, 2006
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/IBM-scores-AU-495-million-Immigration-deal/0,139023166,139260331,00.htm

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) has awarded a consortium led by IBM an AU$495 million contract to help implement its Systems for People change program.

The four year program, announced in the federal budget, follows the department's independent reviews of the poor record-keeping which led to the wrongful detention of Cornelia Rau and Vivian Alvarez.

"The department has a huge number of databases, both in Australia and overseas, which record all the contacts made with any individual client," said Immigration parliamentary secretary Andrew Robb in a statement.

"This change program will enable access to this contact data, as required, and give staff a single, comprehensive view of all dealings with any client."

Major projects in the program will include a document verification service, new visa processing systems, and biometrics.

DIMA said the IBM-led consortium had won an "extremely competitive" tender process.