The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) today announced that Serco Australia Pty Ltd is now the preferred tenderer for the new contract for the provision of a range of immigration detention services at immigration residential housing and immigration transit accommodation around Australia.
G4S Australia Pty Ltd was initially selected on 1 May as the preferred tenderer for the five-year contract but contract negotiations were ceased by DIAC. G4S becomes the reserve tenderer in this process.
The department will now enter into negotiations with Serco Australia, with the intention of signing the contract as soon as possible.
“The tender process and contract negotiations are ongoing and commercial-in-confidence,” a departmental spokesman said. “Our focus is now on finalising contract arrangements as soon as possible.”
As announced on 29 June 2009, a separate five-year contract has been signed with Serco Australia for the delivery of detention services for immigration detention centres and a range of transport and escort services to people in detention.
Immigration residential housing provides an option for accommodating people in independent family-style housing in a community setting while still formally being detained. Immigration residential housing provides accommodation for couples, families and people assessed to be of low security or flight risk.
Immigration transit accommodation facilities are hostel-style accommodation for short-term, low-risk people in immigration detention. The IRH and ITA contract and the detention facilities contract are separate tender processes.
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 new contracts encompass a stronger focus on the rights and well-being of people in detention and provide a comprehensive framework for ongoing quality improvement, including effective performance management systems,” the spokesman said.
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