The Novak Djokovic visa saga may been avoided if the federal government's promised digital passenger declaration system was in place, the home affairs secretary says.
Mike Pezzullo said the system would have given officials near-instant access to supporting documentation by the tennis star to assess whether he met Australia's entry requirements - including vaccination exemptions.
Under the system, the department would have been able to discern Mr Djokovic's vaccination status and whether he had an exemption to enter the country unvaccinated before he arrived in Australia.
This means if Mr Djokovic wasn't able to provide adequate supporting documentation about his vaccination status through the digital system, the airline would've been advised not to allow him to travel.
"If we had a time machine, and travelled back in time, a fully functional DPD with all of the parameters set to interrogate not just the declaration but supporting documents, it's hypothetically possible, yes," Mr Pezzullo said at a Senate estimates hearing.
The masked Novak Djokovic has received warm welcomes back home since returning from Australia. (AAP) Source: AAP
Mr Djokovic instead had his visa cancelled once he was in Australia by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on the grounds it was in the public interest to do so.
The minister suggested the unvaccinated Serbian's presence during the Australian Open could encourage residents to shirk isolation rules, given the tennis star's admission of having previously done so, and foster "anti-vaccination sentiment".
Labor senator Kristina Keneally questioned how the tennis No.1's "anti-vaccine posture and public statements" weren't able to be picked up by an immigration officer.
"Mr Djokovic - one of the most famous people on the planet and who has very strong anti-vaccination views - applies to come to one of the most famous events in the world, he tweets that he's coming and has permission to come - at no point ... did anyone think we should cancel his visa on character grounds?"
First assistant secretary of the department's immigration program, Michael Willard, said the grounds for cancellation used by the minister were different to the grounds the visa was granted on.
"In this particular circumstance, the person granting the visa formed the view that the character test was met," he told the hearing.
Mr Willard said two months and further events had passed from when Mr Djokovic's visa was granted to when the visa was cancelled, giving rise to further evidence which was used to cancel the visa.
The department told Mr Hawke in a briefing the DPD would be rolled out in July 2021, but another briefing to Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews later said it would be ready in November 2021.
It will now come into operation at the end of this week.
