The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) today announced Serco Australia Pty Ltd has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the new contract for the provision of a range of immigration detention services at immigration detention centres around Australia.
Serco Australia and its international parent company currently deliver immigration detention, residential care, custodial, transport and other services in a number of countries including Australia.
The five-year contract covers the provision of detention services at immigration detention centres (IDCs) and a range of transport and escort services to people in detention. The department will now enter into negotiations with the preferred tenderer, with the intention of signing the contract by 30 June 2009.
A separate five-year contract will be entered into for the delivery of detention services for immigration residential housing (IRH) and immigration transit accommodation (ITA). The preferred tenderer for this contract will be announced shortly. The tenders are separate processes.
“Proceeding with separate tenders has provided an opportunity to build in flexibility around the delivery of services in different environments,” a departmental spokesman said today. “There has been a strong focus on making sure that services deliver the least restrictive form of detention appropriate to an individual’s circumstances.”
The development of the tender documentation and contract content was undertaken after extensive consultations with community and industry groups. Some 60 organisations participated in the consultations, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The tender process reflects the way forward for detention services, incorporating the major changes at DIAC since the Palmer and Comrie reports.
“The new contract encompasses a stronger focus on the rights and well-being of people in detention and provides a comprehensive framework for ongoing quality improvement, including effective performance management systems,” the spokesman said. “After an extensive tender and evaluation period, the preferred tenderer was assessed as being best placed to ensure people in immigration detention received fair and reasonable service, aligned with the government’s New Directions in Detention policy.”
The contract also focuses on delivering value for money in detention services.
“All tender bids were evaluated on their merits in order to ensure that high service delivery standards would be met, while achieving the best value for money for the Commonwealth,” the spokesman said.
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