The replacement of paper with online transactions at the Department of Immigration was slowed by the impact of Covid-19 as well as by old equipment, the labour minister said Friday.

But Jason Hayward told the House of Assembly that the department had concentrated on “aggressively advancing automation”.

The move away from paper will include the electronic submission of applications, as well as electronic vetting and validation.

Mr Hayward added that other changes would include the ability of the Immigration Board to consider all work permit applications at a single sitting.

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He added: “A prerequisite of the department’s automation is that immigration senior technical officers must become fully acclimated with presenting applications, making recommendations and interacting directly with the minister.

“The re-engineered process has facilitated senior technical officers gaining this experience and skill set.”

Mr Hayward said new methods were needed to move the department beyond a “current state that admittedly is simply not good enough”.

He added: “While some in the community may be reluctant to see these changes for various reasons, it should be made clear that we cannot continue operating in the same way and achieve results that meet our current and future needs.”