DOIA 2223 2552.pdf

3 July 2023

DOIA 2223-2552

D Towell
[FYI request #22690 email]

Tēnā koe D Towell

Thank  you  for  your  request  of  5  May 2023  to  the  Ministry  of  Business,  Innovation  and  Employment
(MBIE), requesting the following information about the Advanced Digital Employed-Led Processing and
Targeting (ADEPT) system under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):

1.  How much was ADEPT initially projected to cost?
2.  How much has ADEPT cost at the time of its release?
3.  How much has ADEPT cost to date?
4.  What are the projected costs for ADEPT over the next 10 years?
5.  How  many  reports  (or  equivalent  reporting  mechanisms)  of  problems  regarding  ADEPT  have
been made by INZ staff?
6.  How many issues / problems do the ADEPT team have to resolve?
7.  When are identified issues / problems going to be fixed in ADEPT? Or how long is it expected to
take to resolve any issues.
8.  Copies of reports (or equivalent reporting mechanisms) of problems regarding ADEPT raised by
staff working for -
(a)  Border
(b)  Visa Operations
(c)  Investigations and Compliance
(d)  Any other group within INZ.
9.  How many of the following instances have occurred -
(a)  Resident visa and permanent residence visa holders stopped at the border because their
ADEPT visas are not recognised
(b)  Blank visas issued by ADEPT
(c)  Visas issued in the wrong name by ADEPT
(d)  Visas issued with no conditions by ADEPT
(e)  Visas issued to the wrong person by ADEPT
(f)  Visas issues to the wrong travel document by ADEPT
10. Copies of any documentation relating to compatibility issues between ADEPT and AMS systems.
11. What are the projected timeframes to resolve any issues between ADEPT and AMS.
12. How many sensitive issues reports or no surprises fact sheets have been sent by staff relating to
issues regarding ADEPT. And details as to the nature of these reports.

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About ADEPT
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent two-year border restrictions, Immigration New
Zealand (INZ) made the decision to close some of our offshore visa processing offices with the
intention of moving processing onshore. This was due to both the impact of the pandemic on those
processing sites and the impact of the border closure on visa application volumes.
We have been progressively moving to online service delivery for several years and several products
are online only. ADEPT was developed in order to implement the Government’s new Accredited
Employer Work Visa (AEWV), and to improve the efficiency of visa processing via the automation of
processing steps and better manage increasing visa volumes that we were experiencing prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
ADEPT is part of the Government’s Enhanced Immigration Online programme, which is designed to
bring significant efficiency gains, improve timeliness and reduce costs over time.
More information about the rollout of products under the Enhanced Immigration Online banner can
be found on INZ’s website, at https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/our-online-
systems/enhancements-to-immigration-online.
Your request
My answers to each part of your request are as follows:
Question 1 Initial cost projection for ADEPT
Question 2 Cost of ADEPT at time of its release
Question 3 Cost of ADEPT to date; and
Question 4 Projected costs of ADEPT

ADEPT was delivered via two projects:
•
Automated  Decision  Assist  (ADA),  providing  improved  visa  processing,  and  with
appropriate controls, can allow automation of some process steps, and
•
Employer  Direct  Project  (EDP),  implementing  the  Cabinet-directed  Accredited  Employer
Work Visa (AEWV) reforms, delivering an employer accreditation and job check portal, and
the base capability for the new online visa application system.

The initial cabinet approved budget for the development of ADEPT via the two projects was $58,693,000.

The scope of the programme was changed in response to the changing operating environment created
by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, there were adjustments to policy settings resulting in systems
development  changes  (the  most  significant  being  the  2021  Resident  Visa)  and  amended  delivery
timeframes as the timetable for opening the border was adjusted.

The overall cost for the programme was less than that approved in the original business cases; the two
ADEPT projects had a total final spend of $56,807,854.

The total budgeted ICT spend for the Enhanced Immigration Online system, which excludes the
internal support, was $8.1m for the 2022/23 financial year.
Since October 2022, the ICT spend is estimated at $12m for the 2022/23 financial year. The main cost
charges were from Microsoft, DXC, Theta and includes the new project work.
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The estimated operating costs for ADEPT will depend on a number of factors such as the demand for
Visas. Future costs will be managed within the total Immigration New Zealand Budget.

The external contractors on the project provided a range of services alongside permanent staff,
including programme and vendor contract management and administration, business analysis, process
design and communications.
Question 5 Reports of problems with ADEPT made by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) staff
Question 8 Copies of reports of problems broken down by INZ business group; and
Question 9 Number of time certain issues with ADEPT have been recorded

We regularly undertake quality checks to pick up any errors or issues and to ensure the INZ system is
working as expected.
I am refusing these parts of your request under section 18(f) of the OIA, due to the substantial collation
required to provide a response. This means the work to get any records in scope of your request into a
form that a decision can then be made on their contents outweighs the available resources to do so. I
have made this decision due to the following factors:

•  The source information is contained within tens of thousands of records that would need to be
individually checked to determine which ones contain the requested information
•  The records concerned are not held in a single location, database or with a single team
•  We do not hold the records in a way that allows them to be easily identified as being from an INZ
staff member
•  We would be required to come up with a scale of severity, to distinguish a ‘problem’, from other
types of raised issues, such as suggestions for improvement, frivolous issues or minor issues that
can be readily fixed at the user end
•  Some smaller issues would be resolved by our external information technology providers, and we
may not be made aware of these resolutions, and therefore do not hold a record of these changes;
and
•  The work to sort through collated reports to determine the issue in scope can only reasonably done
by a person with existing familiarity with ADEPT, meaning that it would require existing work to be
delayed to complete.

In line with section 18A of the OIA, I do not consider that charging for this information or extending the
timeframe to respond would allow your request to be granted.

Question 6 How many issues / problems do the ADEPT team have to resolve?
Question 7 When identified issues or problems going with ADEPT will be fixed; and
Question 11 Projected timeframes to resolve any issues between ADEPT and AMS.

We believe that ADEPT is working largely to expectation. Regular repairs and enhancements have been
delivered to the system since it was launched, to ensure that it meets our expectation to provide a better
system  experience  for  applicants  and  their  representatives,  streamlined  processing  and  quicker
decisions.  Recently,  there  are  around  20-30  small  fixes  delivered  each  month  through  the  regular
production support team.

No large-scale technology deployment ever goes without a hitch, and we acknowledge that a number
of  customers,  including  immigration  professionals  experienced  challenges  with  the  new  system  that
caused frustration. Employers provide regular feedback on our services, and this has greatly assisted us
in identifying what parts of our systems and processes can be enhanced and has enabled us to prioritise
fixes.

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We  recognise  there  is  more  work  to  do  to  process  visas  at  the  speed  employers,  customers  and
stakeholders expect, and we are focused on improving our processing rates and customer experience.

Question 10 Copies of documentation relating to compatibility between ADEPT and INZ’s Application
Management System (AMS)

There are no known compatibility issues between ADEPT and AMS. Any minor issues or incidents that
arise are resolved via the production support stream as soon as practicably possible. Because of this, I
am refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the requested information does
not exist.

Question 12 Sensitive issues reports or no surprises fact sheets sent by staff relating to ADEPT issue
In line with sections 16(1)(e), 16(2)(c), 9(2)(a) and 9(1) of the OIA, this information is being provided to
you in the form of a summary. Please refer to the table below for a summary of sensitive issues reports
or no surprises fact sheets sent by staff relating to issues regarding ADEPT.

Type of issue
Number of
Summary/commentary
issues
System issues
4
Issues relating to technical/system faults. These include issues
such as visa applications not progressing or being finalised
correctly.
Programming issues
7
Issues relating to the translation of immigration requirements
into the ADEPT system. These include issues such as applicants
being charged an application fee when not required to pay
one, or being asked to provide medical tests when not required
to provide them.
Integration issues
5
Issues where ADEPT is not correctly integrating with another
electronic system, such as INZ’s Application Management
System or Immigration Health System.
Human error - frontline
5
Issues relating to errors made by frontline staff, whether
through administrative error or due to training gaps.
Human error - national
8
Issues relating to errors made by national office staff. These
office
include a wide range of topics, such as:
•  Issues with staff access or permissions in ADEPT
•  Issues relating to subject matter advice, such as
incorrect visa conditions or wording of visa conditions
•  Errors in communication of changes to staff
Human error - customer
2
Issues stemming from visa applicant use of the system, such as
where applicants are inputting information incorrectly on
application forms or where visa applications are delayed by
applicants not providing the information requested.
Opportunity for
8
Issues relating to features that either do not exist or are not
enhancement
currently being utilised. These include some application types
not yet being processed in ADEPT, difficulties in prioritising
urgent applications, and the ability to make changes to an
application after it is made (such as adding an additional
applicant).

Please note: Some issues may be initially raised for one reason, but later be identified as a different type
of problem; for example, an issue may initially present as a system issue, but upon closer inspection be
a result of user error created by a training gap. These subsequent changes may not be reflected in the
table.
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Thank  you  again  for  your  request.  You  have  the  right  to  seek  an  investigation  and  review  by  the
Ombudsman  of  this  decision.  Information  about  how  to  make  a  complaint  is  available  at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

Nāku noa, nā

Robyn Moriarty
General Manager, Partnership and Programmes
Digital, Data and Insights

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