A company sanctioned by Border Force remains on a panel supplying staff to government

This article has been co-published with Crikey.

A company sanctioned by the Australian Border Force for breaching sponsorship obligations for skilled foreign workers remains an approved provider of temporary IT personnel to the federal government, Crikey and Open Politics can reveal.

In 2025, Delivery Centric Technology Services (DCTS) was appointed by the Digital Transformation Agency to a panel — titled “Digital Marketplace Panel 2” (DMP2) —  to provide IT labour hire and consulting services to Commonwealth government agencies. The DTA is the federal government’s head IT and technology advisor.

But in June this year, DCTS was barred from sponsoring skilled foreign workers for 12 months after committing three breaches of the Migration Regulations 1994 for failing to ensure sponsored workers participated in their “nominated occupation, program or activity”.

Despite this, as of writing, the company remains on the DTA panel.

In response to questions about the ABF’s sanctions, DTA branch manager of digital sourcing Kim Laybutt told Crikey the agency “is looking into the matter and considering any implications”, and that sellers on the panel are required to notify the DTA of “significant events”.

Where appropriate, action may be taken under the panel agreement, including suspension or termination,” Laybutt said.

The ABF sanction could well be a “significant event”, as the agreement requires sellers to notify the DTA of matters “that may adversely impact on the seller’s compliance with any applicable laws or Commonwealth policy [or] … reputation”.

We can’t be sure of this, however, as the Migration Act 1958, under which the Migration Regulations 1994 sits, is not listed in the agreement as one of 11 Commonwealth laws sellers must comply with. 

If the DTA decides the breaches are significant, the agency could — short of suspending or terminating the agreement — require the company to implement a remediation plan to address the impact of the event and prevent a repeat occurrence.   

As for what due diligence the DTA does on panel suppliers, Laybutt said, “Sellers are evaluated before appointment to DMP2, and the DTA undertakes ongoing monitoring through performance management, compliance obligations, and other reporting requirements.”

DCTS is yet to secure work above $10,000 — the threshold for reported contracts on government website AusTender — from the DTA’s Digital Marketplace Panel 2 since joining it in August 2025. 

The company did win a contract under the predecessor Digital Marketplace Panel 1 in May 2024 from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), which awarded it a $243,320 contract to provide temporary personnel between May 2024 and December 2024. AFMA increased the contract’s value to $343,320 in October that year.

The company didn’t secure another contract above $10,000 over the eight-year life of the panel from 2017 to 2025. Nor has it secured substantial work, if any, from other Commonwealth panels or in open tenders at any time.

Crikey and Open Politics sought comment from AFMA on whether the company provided sponsored foreign workers under the contract, why the company was chosen out of more than 3,800 other suppliers on the panel, and what due diligence AFMA did on the company. AFMA said no sponsored foreign workers were used and that the selection of the company was “in accordance with the Commonwealth procurement rules”.

Little is known about DCTS because the IT company doesn’t have a website. Its only online presence is a Facebook page last updated a decade ago. 

ASIC records show the director and half-owner of the company is Paneendranath Kesarla of Cairnlea, Melbourne. The other shareholder is The Company of Kesarla Pty Ltd, which is registered to Paneendranath Kesarla’s home address. Records also reveal the company has the same principal place of business as Delivery Centric Pty Ltd, which was founded by Kesarla.

Delivery Centric Pty Ltd’s website lists several government customers including the Bureau of Meteorology and Medicare (Services Australia), but we couldn’t find records on AusTender of the company winning substantial contracts with these agencies or indeed any other non-corporate Commonwealth entities. (Most Commonwealth companies and corporate Commonwealth entities are exempt from reporting awarded contracts to AusTender.)

Kesarla was contacted for comment about the ABF sanctions and Delivery Centric Pty Ltd’s contracts with Commonwealth agencies, but did not respond by deadline.

Comment was also sought from Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, who is responsible for the DTA and procurement policy, about whether Commonwealth procurement rules and processes need to be changed to automatically prevent firms sanctioned by the ABF from providing personnel to agencies.

Her office said, “As ministers have no role in procurement decisions, including the eligibility for panels, I do have to refer you back to the DTA or the Department of Finance.”