In an attempt to transform the country’s visa system, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has turned to the market and is seeking a provider to design, implement, and operate a new visa business.

According to the request for expression of interest (REOI) that was published at the weekend, the new visa business will be outsourced to another party that will be charged with processing visa applications. Currently, only 20 percent of the country’s visa service is outsourced.

According to DIBP figures, 8.78 million visas were applied for in 2016-17. The government expects this number to reach 13 million by 2026-27.