New Zealand immigration department needs massive overhaul

The New Zealand immigration department has had a critical report released outlining the areas in desperate need of improvement.

The New Zealand immigration department – Immigration New Zealand – has had an eye-opening report that details the lack of communication, efficiency and procedures for making New Zealand immigration a smooth operation.

According to Jonathan Coleman, New Zealand immigration minister, the New Zealand immigration system needs a massive overhaul of restructure, culture and performance.

"This report confirms that the mess left by the last Government is even worse than anyone thought," Voxy News reported Dr Coleman as saying.

"We've got a picture of a service with big problems, and I'm putting the onus right on the Chief Executive and the State Services Commissioner to deliver on their assurances that they have a plan to put Immigration New Zealand right."

The Auditor General of the report had visited 10 New Zealand immigration offices, interviewed ten times as many staff, and assessed hundreds of New Zealand visa and New Zealand work permit decisions.

According to Voxy, the Auditor's findings were not impressive; the decision-making process was disconnected between branches, and training, delegations, procedures for back-logs and quality control were all of a low standard.

However, Dr Coleman conferred that the report was not all bad news for New Zealand immigration.

"Immigration New Zealand staff are dedicated and hard working, but they are let down by a dysfunctional organisation. Furthermore, they don't feel it's an environment in which they can raise concerns further up the chain.

"It's clear from the report that the decision to ask the CE to reintegrate the Pacific Division back into the core of INZ was the right one."

The New Zealand Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with New Zealand immigration.