Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison hired by Indian visa processing company BLS International

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been hired by an Indian company specialising in worldwide visa and citizenship services, as the Liberal party he once led pushes to clamp down on Australia’s immigration levels.

His appointment to BLS International, which boasts it is a “globally trusted, tech-enabled, AI-powered service partner”, has also drawn sharp criticism, given the Morrison government’s role in the Robodebt scandal involving automated assessments.

“BLS International hopes to draw on Mr Morrison’s deep economic, trade, and commercial background to further its long-term growth vision built on the pillars of cutting-edge technologies, government engagement, public-service transformation and long-term institutional partnerships,” the New Delhi-based company said in a statement.

“Before and during his time in public office, his career heavily centred around market economics, financial regulation, infrastructure, and trade diversification.

“Mr Morrison has built a substantial track record working directly with corporate boards, private equity, and global advisory firms”.

In the statement released by BLS International, Australia’s 30th Prime Minister said he looked forward to helping grow the massive company that was founded in 2005.

“BLS International is now a trusted partner to governments across multiple regions and continues to build a strong reputation for operational excellence and delivery of Government-to-Citizen services,” Mr Morrison said.

“I look forward to supporting and contributing my insights to support BLS International’s plans for continued growth that will give governments better choices to meet the evolving needs of their citizens and international visitors.”

Mr Morrison declared that the future of public services will “require governments and their partners to combine innovation, security, efficiency and integrity as they deliver truly user experience centric services”.

“BLS International will play an increasingly significant role in partnering with Governments through their expanding suite of G2C services as they work to meet this demand,” he said.

Since taking over as Opposition leader this year, Angus Taylor has pursued a tougher stance on immigration as his Liberal Party continues to lose support to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

This week, Mr Taylor repeatedly refused to say whether the Coalition still supports multiculturalism, while also avoiding an endorsement of One Nation’s demand for Australia to become a “monoculture”.

Challenged multiple times to declare whether the Coalition would follow One Nation’s push to end multiculturalism, the Opposition leader instead said he wanted to see people supporting “Australian values”.

Last month, The Nightly revealed Labor frontbencher Tony Burke’s praise for Australia’s growing Indian population and declared that “getting the right immigrants” was part of the solution to the country’s housing crisis.

During a lengthy discussion with podcast host Pawan Luthra, the Home Affairs Minister, who also holds the Immigration and Citizenship portfolios, described how Australia needed to find the best skilled migrants “more than ever before”.

“Half of our doctors now are born overseas, half of our registered nurses are born overseas, about a quarter of the tradespeople we need to build homes are born overseas,” Mr Burke said.

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock, a fierce critic of the former Coalition government for its handling of the illegal Robodebt scandal, claimed Mr Morrison’s appointment should “strike fear in the minds of taxpayers and citizens”.

“We are still cleaning up the appalling long-term consequences of the Morrison Government’s misuse of Robodebt decision making - which cost lives - and extraordinary over-dependence on privatisation of core government work,” Senator Pocock told The Nightly.

“Scott Morrison left the Australian public sector hollowed out and skeletal, while the Big 4 consulting firms made massive profits on his watch. Australia is still paying the price of Morrison’s failures of public administration.

“The thought that he is advising big consulting firms will warm the hearts of consulting profiteers but should strike fear in the minds of taxpayers and citizens who will pick up the tab and pay the price of poor-quality privatised services, based on our experience on his home turf.’

Since leaving parliament office in 2022, Mr Morrison has also worked for American Global Strategies LLC (AGS), a leading international advisory and consulting firm, which is involved in the AUKUS program.