An independent report commissioned by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has recommended it focus on building and maintaining a high performance culture now that most of the recommendations of the Palmer, Comrie and Ombudsman reports have been implemented.
The report says “the time has come to move on from the current focus on Palmer and Comrie to one which would ensure the lessons from these various reports continue to be learnt”.
Elizabeth Proust*, the report’s author, was commissioned by the department’s Secretary, Andrew Metcalfe to assess the progress and effectiveness of the department’s response to the 2005 Palmer Report into the circumstances of the detention of Cornelia Rau, the 2005 Comrie Report into the unlawful removal from Australia of Vivian Alvarez and reports by the Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman on 247 cases involving immigration detention matters released in 2006-07.
In releasing the Proust report today, Mr Metcalfe welcomed the independent confirmation the department had learned from the mistakes of the past and was well-advanced embedding a strong culture of high performance in which clients are treated with humanity, professionalism and respect.
“After three-and-a-half years, it was appropriate to benchmark our improvements against the recommendations of the original reports,” Mr Metcalfe said. “Elizabeth Proust is widely recognised for broad experience in the public and private sectors and her acumen in providing independent assessments and reviews of large organisations.
“I am pleased that Ms Proust has confirmed DIAC has substantially implemented the Palmer and Comrie recommendations and that where they are not yet complete, plans exist for their implementation.”
Ms Proust has recommended more be done to inform external stakeholders about progress made by the department in implementing its reform agenda. She also identified areas in which further work was required including in the continuing roll-out of the Systems for People technology-enabled business transformation program, leadership, and engagement with staff and external stakeholders.
Mr Metcalfe said these initiatives and achievements had all occurred under the framework of the three strategic themes, which underpin the departmental motto ‘people our business’, of:
- being an open and accountable organisation
- having fair and reasonable dealings with clients
- having well trained and supported staff.
“They reflect the embedding of the reform and improvement program which commenced three-and-a-half years ago as part of the bread and butter business of the department,” the secretary said.
“Like other large public sector organisations with integrated policy, program and service delivery functions, we are strongly focussing on continuously improving our performance, productivity and client service so that we deliver better migration and citizenship outcomes for our direct clients and for the people of Australia.”
The report can be found at:
www.immi.gov.au/about/department/perf-progress/evaluation-report/proust-report.pdf
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ELIZABETH PROUST
Elizabeth Proust has held leadership roles in the private and public sectors in Australia for almost 25 years. Ms Proust left ANZ at the end of 2005 to pursue non-executive roles and to work as a mentor and leadership coach. She has an outstanding track record in leading organisations, and in involvement in a range of arts, charitable, university and business boards. She was at the ANZ for eight years, and prior to that held senior positions in the Victorian Government as secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and of the Attorney-General’s Department. She was also CEO of the City of Melbourne.
Ms Proust is on the board of Perpetual Ltd, Spotless Group Ltd, Insurance Manufacturers Australia Pty Ltd, and Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd. She is a mentor with the international organisation, Merryck & Co and is on the advisory board of JP Morgan.
She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, chair of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, chair of the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University and a director of Nonprofit Australia. In 2006-07, she chaired a review of the Defence Department for the then Defence minister, Dr Brendan Nelson, and in January this year completed a review of his personal powers for the Immigration Minister, Senator Chris Evans. Ms Proust has a Law degree (University of Melbourne) and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from La Trobe University.
