Hon David Cunliffe
Minister of Immigration

Minister welcomes Audit report on identity fraud

The Labour-led government does not accept immigration fraud, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe says in welcoming the report of the Office of the Auditor-General on migrant identity fraud.

"The report is a helpful contribution to the work we are doing to upgrade immigration systems and procedures within the Department of Labour," Mr Cunliffe said. "I agree there are system improvements needed.

"The Auditor-General's thinking is in line with our work through the Immigration Change Programme and other operational improvements. We will be taking the report's recommendations firmly on board when we announce further changes in due course.

"All of the Auditor-General's recommendations have either been implemented, are in process, or will be addressed through our Immigration Business Transformation programme over time. Progress will be made public via regular updates on the Department of Labour website.

"This government is serious about border security. When we took office in 1999, there was no Immigration fraud unit. The one we established now has eleven investigators plus a manager and support staff.

"Immigration NZ has many hard-working and dedicated staff who do their very best for migrants and New Zealand. They too deserve the best systems we can provide."

The Auditor-General conducted the report into identity fraud by skilled migrants and United Nations quota refugees, noting that the department had to balance a responsibility for helping to maintain border security with the need to attract skilled migrants and allow the entry of refugees to fulfil humanitarian obligations.

"The department builds identity management into its end-to-end border systems, so it is not an isolated process. It also links with` other agencies and government departments world-wide to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information possible," Mr Cunliffe said.

"It is important to continually assess how effective the processes and systems that are in place to manage identity fraud are. Improvements can and will be made. A high quality audit, such as the Auditor-General's report, is a useful contribution to further strengthen the systems already in place."

ENDS

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