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Australia · e-visa

Global Digital Platform visa processing tender

Terminated Status as of 19 October 2026 · Funding type: Concession or PPP

Home Affairs went to market in 2018 for a platform under which private firms would process visas, detect fraud and recommend decisions, taking a share of each visa fee 1,2. Two groups bid: Australian Visa Processing, whose members included PwC and Qantas Ventures, and Australia Post with Accenture 1. Acting Minister Alan Tudge ended the tender in March 2020 1. The Canberra Times reported in August 2021 that the plan cost nearly AUD 100 million before it was dropped, and that the replacement permissions capability contracting process would cost AUD 74.9 million, according to Senate estimates evidence 2. No audit report on the tender was found.

Key terms

Buyer
Department of Home Affairs
Vendor
No contract awarded. Bidders: Australian Visa Processing (a consortium including PwC, Ellerston Capital, Qantas Ventures, NAB and Pacific Blue Capital) and Australia Post with Accenture
Vendor based in
Not confirmed
Signed
Not published (tender opened 2018, terminated March 2020)
Duration
Not published
Value
Not published. Reported costs: over AUD 70 million for going to market (Information Age, 26 March 2020) and nearly AUD 100 million before the plan was dropped (Canberra Times, 11 August 2021)
Funding
concession/PPP
Fee model
Companies would have received a cut of the visa fee for each application processed, as reported by the Canberra Times
Procurement route
Not published
System ownership
Not published
Data terms
Not published

Audits, courts, parliament and regulators

  1. March 2020: Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge announced the end of the tender process 1
  2. May 2021: Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo told Senate estimates the contracting process for the replacement permissions capability project would cost AUD 74.9 million, as reported by the Canberra Times 2

Sources

  1. Information Age (ACS): Visa outsourcing scrapped (26 March 2020)
  2. The Canberra Times: Another $12.7m bite, govt spends millions on zombie visa program (11 August 2021)

Fields marked "Not published" or "Not confirmed" could not be established from an official or reliable source. If you hold a document that fills a gap or corrects an entry, write to editor@bordercontracts.org. Last checked 19 October 2026.

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