If migration agents are trying to re-register and and their mandatory CPD points are not showing as 'mandatory' please contact the Office of the MARA as this has nothing to do with CPD providers in the profession. 

This is a glitch with the OMARA's new website and IT systems and not with providers.  OMARA will explain to agents what to do. 

The email for the CPD section at the OMARA is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The following information has just been received from the DIBP:

Dear Registered Migration Agent

Please be advised that, as of 1 August 2014, electronic lodgement of the Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa has been extended to 66 additional countries and territories.

The occupational ceilings for the skilled migration programme for the 2014-15 financial year were announced earlier this month with the quota for several occupations notably teachers, accountants and construction trades falling whilst the quotas for registered nurses, engineers and IT professionals increasing.

Registered nurses remain the most wanted occupation in the Australian workforce if you go by the occupational ceiling numbers. The occupational ceiling for registered nurses was increased to 15,042 places in the latest skilled migration programme. This is more than double the quota of any other occupation group.

IT Professionals and Engineers would be particularly pleased to note the increase in the number of places as the quotas for these professions almost reached their limit last year.

Occupational ceilings limit how many invitations to apply are issued by the Department of Immigration each year for general skilled migration for a particular occupation. This is to ensure that the migration program is not dominated by a small number of occupations. Generally, applicants with an Expression of Interest in occupational groups which have reached their ceiling will not be invited to apply for a visa but however will remain in the EOI pool for two years from the date of submission, or until they are selected to apply when a fresh quota is issued.

Occupational ceilings do not apply to Employer Sponsored or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses and have now also been removed for State or Territory Nominated, visa subclasses. Effectively this means that states can nominate occupations for Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 and Skilled Regional Subclass 489 visas even if the ceiling has been reached.

From 1 August 2014, the Permanent Partner processing centres in Melbourne and Brisbane will start sending the two year document information request letter, for the assessment of permanent partner visa applications, to registered migration agents by email. From this date the department will cease posting these letters.

If your client is eligible for assessment of their permanent visa and a document request letter has not been received, the required information is available on our website at www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/partner.

Prior to 1 August, we ask that you check we have your correct email address and that exception rules are put in place if required so our emails are not sent to the ‘Junk folder’ by your email system.

Since its inception, the Migration Alliance (MA) has sought to promote and protect the interests of Registered Migration Agents (RMAs). A key aim of the MA has been to reduce and ultimately stop unregistered practice in any form including the unfortunate and often disastrous practice by Human Resources Managers and Education Agents.

However, getting rid of unregistered practice requires legislative change which the MA has been lobbying on for many years. MA has written to the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Senator Michaelia Cash last month providing a comprehensive suite of documents including submissions, briefing papers and draft legislative instruments designed to shut down unregistered practice.

The aim of all this is to provide comprehensive protection to vulnerable consumers by eliminating once and for all unregistered practice.

“While policy-makers and legislators consider the issue, the MA is of the view that migration advisory industry should band together against unregistered practice. At the simplest level, the suggestion is that RMAs and CPD providers should not encourage unregistered practice and in fact work to discourage it” says Liana Allan.

The MA notes that a new entrant to the migration CPD landscape, namely Legalwise Seminars has marked its entry as an accredited provider of continuing professional development by offering a “comprehensive half day program [that] provide….the most accurate, authoritative and current content to help you understand the process of migration law (both legislation and case law)” to “Employers, Agents and Lawyers”.

The MA objects to this bundling of RMAs with unregistered practitioners. “The seminar insults the professionalism of RMAs as it groups them with unregistered onshore practitioners. It begs the question: do seminars like these promote onshore unregistered practice?” says Liana Allan.