Looking to the Future of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP)

In 2016, RAND Corporation conducted an evaluation of the newly integrated Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). This report, requested by the DIBP, presents a second, follow-on evaluation with two thrusts: to update the previous analysis and identify lessons for continued DIBP reform, and to inform the upcoming transition to an Australian Department of Home Affairs (HA). Interviews with senior leaders and documents dating to 2005 provide the foundation for judgments and findings in this report, concentrating on changes during the period 2016–2017 and ongoing and planned efforts by DIBP as part of future reform. Analysis focuses on: (1) intelligence, (2) investigations, (3) detention, (4) integrity and corruption, and (5) learning and development. This report finds that (1) previous DIBP progress toward integration and reform has continued, although uneven across the department, and many goals remain a work in progress, (2) lessons and insights applicable to the formation of the soon-to-be-established HA have been learned; and (3) other organisational transformations by similar organisations identify insights and pitfalls for the establishment of HA. Overall, progress has been made in building a modern border management capability for Australia, though more work remains. The foundations of the DIBP are solid and can serve as a basis for the establishment of HA.