DIAC celebrates two years of YouTube

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is celebrating a "15-fold" increase in its YouTube viewership during the past year, reaching a total of 75,143 hits since the channel's May 2008 launch.

Dubbed ImmiTV, the channel aims to provide a worldwide audience with information about moving to and living in Australia.

The channel is managed by what a DIAC spokesman said was a "very small team" responsible for the end-to-end production of videos.

In line with the Government's Web 2.0 guidelines, the channel is expected to improve public access to Government information and services, cheaply.

"[ImmiTV] takes advantage of the popular social media site [YouTube] to improve its ability to communicate to the public, giving them access to government information and services with ease," a DIAC spokesman told iTnews.

"This approach makes the government better connected with the public, as well as helping the government reduce costs."

The Department highlighted challenges in keeping the content up-to-date and relevant, with its in-house team of producers responsible for sourcing story ideas, writing, shooting, and editing video footage.

There are currently 56 videos on the channel; the most viewed being a two-and-a-half minute long video about the Government's Visa Entitlement Verification Online service.

Other video topics range from visa responsibilities of onshore visa holders to orientation videos for refugees arriving from Asian countries under Australia's humanitarian program.

Other government organisations with YouTube channels include the Attorney-General's Department, with 802 views since December, and AusAID, with 18,245 views since July 2009.