Digital Assistant and beyond: Transforming Migration Law through AI

Growing migration interest and service disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have provided strong impetus for the digitization and automation of Australian migration law. Focusing on the Digital Assistant (chatbot), this paper discusses its strengths and constraints in enhancing client service delivery and access to immigration information by the Self-represented Applicants (SRA); and explores how it could leverage Artificial Intelligence technologies, including Machine-learning and Predictive Analytics, to promote accessibility and usability, perform initial vetting on visa eligibility, as well as bridging the information asymmetry between SRA and decision makers. Looking ahead, this paper also consider how Digital Assistant could go beyond providing information to SRA per se to becoming an information exchange platform for the immigration authority, prospective visa applicants and migration service providers.