Australian Immigration Daily News

The following email has just been received: 

Good afternoon 

News just in from a trusted RMA:

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"I received a call from my local MP today about my complaint to him about the “secret list”.

The following was an email I sent to the CEO of the Office of the MARA this morning:

Natalie O'Brien, a reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald has written a news story today.  She says "A blacklist of registered migration agents and lawyers the Department of Immigration tried to keep secret has been reproduced online, escalating calls for an inquiry and a possible class action against the department."

As migration agents would already be aware, Migration Alliance's Convenor, Accredited Specialist immigration lawyer, Christopher Levingston said that the creation and maintenance of what he called a "shi* list" of registered migration agents  "is a complete disgrace and shows the absolute contempt that the department has for the profession".

Mr Levingston said the department had acted deceitfully and in a manner that damaged the clients of agents because of some unspecified criteria. 

Migration Alliance has a petition running.   We are petitioning Scott Morrison MP and Michaelia Cash MP to stop accepting visa applications from unregistered persons. 

This petition is about preventing unregistered persons from being able to lodge Australian visa applications on behalf of visa applicants will protect those vulnerable applicants and give them the best chance of success at visa applications to Australia.   Stopping unregistered practitioners from lodging visa applications would prevent fraud, prevent immigration scams and stop criminal entrepreneurs.  Stopping the receipt of visa applications from unregistered persons and only accepting applications from Registered Migration Agents would also decrease processing times within the DIBP.  

The integrity of Australia's borders is paramount.