Immigration minister Jonathan Coleman has pledged to request money ahead of the next budget in order to improve the performance of the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS).

Coleman’s announcement comes in the wake of a report published by the Auditor-General, which states that 20 per cent of decisions made by the NZIS were deemed to be questionable or poor. Moreover, the present computer system used by the immigration service is barely able to store basic information.

In an interview with TVNZ’s Q&A programme, Dr Coleman announced that the computer system would need investment of around $117 million over the next four years in order to maximise its potential.

Coleman has said that if he is granted the money he will be requesting at the next budget, it will be put towards securing New Zealand’s borders and ensuring that potential migrants receive the quality of service they require.

Currently, applications for student visas in New Zealand can take up to six weeks to process, compared to just two days in Australia.