Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The government is not privatising visa decision-making. The Department of Home Affairs is conducting a tender process for a new workflow tool that will support digital visa application and decision-making. This modernisation process is necessary to reduce processing times and ensure that visa decision-making continues to support key export industries, like tourism and education, and helps to keep us all safe. This process is not being driven by a desire to reduce departmental staffing or cut costs. Claims that this process will lead to wholesale job losses and office closures are simply false, and those making those claims actually know that.