Will OMARA be cut down to size and will consumer protection prevail with the establishment of an independent immigration commissioner under the review of OMARA? This is the chance for all RMAs to provide submissions on the governance of RMAs as submissions close on 27 July 2014.

Any inquiry into a public agency suggests problems have been brewing for far too long and have come to a head. No doubt, constant calls by the Migration Alliance have been a key catalyst to the recent announcement of an independent review the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). Now it’s the turn of RMAs to step up and make submissions to the reviewer or provide suggestions and feedback to MA’s white paper calling for an independent immigration commissioner. This will help ensure the inquiry sees OMARA for what it is and give RMAs and prospective migrants the changes they need.

OMARA has had trouble within and without since its inception: constant staff turnover; constant complaints from RMA’s of cumbersome administrative and expensive registration processes; and the overzealous scrutiny of RMAs. And the mother all its issues: being the lackey of DIBP and without independence thus begging the question:  how exactly does OMARA offer consumer protection to prospective migrants given this DIBP bias?

It is not unreasonable to expect this inquiry to cut OMARA down to size. Cruising on an annual expenditure of some $5million to administer the registration of 5000 agents, is in no uncertain terms excessive.

Perhaps one of the most damming indictments comes from Christopher Levingston’s description of the OMARA: “From its inception the MARA in all of its incarnations including the self-regulated model administered by the MIA, has comprehensively defaulted into a complex, unregulated and largely unresponsive ‘Authority’…”

The inquiry is clearly set up to consider issues such as this one. A key term of reference according to Assistant Minister of Immigration and Border Protection, Senator Michaelia Cash, who ordered the review, is to, “examine and report on the OMARA’s organisational capability and challenges, as well as the quality and effectiveness of its internal controls and governance”

Due to the record number of Indian visitors to Australia, the department of Immigration and VFS Global have agreed to provide visa application services through three new and 10 upgraded Australia Visa Application Centres (VACs) across the region.

Travellers to Australia from India and Nepal can now apply for their visas more conveniently from nine upgraded VACs located in Indian cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai (North) and New Delhi, and one in Kathmandu, Nepal according to news reports.

The online travel journal, Travel Trends Today reports that  in future, visa applicants would be able to lodge their visa requests from three new Australia VACs, to be rolled out in Jalandhar, Mumbai (South) and Pune over the next two weeks. This enhanced service network will save time and travel expense, and will speed up the entire visa application process.

While inaugurating the Australia VAC in Mumbai, Mark Pierce, Australian Consul General, Mumbai welcomed the new facilities and hoped that they would help lead to increased numbers of Indian business leaders, students and tourists to Australia.

“For the first time in its history, our High Commission in New Delhi issued more than 100,000 tourism visas to Indians in a single financial year, with numbers increasing by 10 percent in the first three months of this year. This is a real milestone for the bilateral relationship, said Mr Pierce. This follows a 50 per cent increase in Indian student visa applications over the last year.”

Upbeat about this partnership, Anil Katoch, COO - South Asia, VFS Global stated, “VFS Global is privileged to partner the Government of Australia since October 2007 in India and Nepal, besides serving the client government in 21 other countries globally. Catering to the growing demand of Australia bound travellers in India; we aim to offer high-quality applicant-friendly services to provide a seamless visa application experience to all travellers applying through our Visa Application Centres. This extension of our association with the Government of Australia reflects their faith in our abilities, and we are sure this will go a long way in forging a longstanding partnership with VFS Global.”

The Fair Work Ombudsman is preparing to launch an investigation into claims backpackers employed as fruit pickers in one of the country's biggest food producing regions are being underpaid by labour hire contractors and forced to live in illegal budget accommodation, report the ABC.

According to the news report, the investigation will focus on the Queensland city of Bundaberg where, each year, thousands of travellers spend at least 88 days working on farms along the harvest trail in order to extend their 417 working holiday visas.

Taiwanese backpacker Claire, who goes by her Australian nickname, moved to the city last June to work on a tomato farm.

Speaking to 7.30, Claire claimed to have been significantly underpaid, forced to sleep in a living room with 25 other backpackers, mostly from Korea, and denied rest breaks despite working all day beneath the sun without shelter.

"We just got $7 a day and we needed to spend maybe six hours a day picking tomatoes," she said.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is urging people to beware of a global scam offering overseas residents a Maritime Security Identification Card (MSIC) and Australian visas to gain jobs with cruise companies.

Scammers have been targeting people in several countries via emails offering job opportunities with cruise lines operating in Australia, and a relevant visa. AMSA became aware of the email scam in October last year and a number of people have reported being targeted by the scam or have been scammed.

The email scam offers job opportunities with bogus cruise lines, including Silver Cruise and Princess Line Australia, operating in Australia and a relevant visa on the completion of paperwork of the inaccurately named 'Australia Maritime Security Identification Card' (AMSIC).

Ship Safety Division General Manager Allan Schwartz said the form sent to those responding to the email is fraudulent but has fooled some with a reasonably sophisticated look.

“The form has AMSA’s logo and name at the top and requests a payment, along with scans of passport and identity cards to apply for the identification card,” Mr Schwartz said.

Women are somehow being trafficked into Australia and then forced into a life of slavery under the partner migration program, according to recent report by the Australian Institute of Criminology (ACI).

The success of a partner visa application hinges on the couple establishing convincing evidence of a ‘genuine and continuing relationship’ between the applicant and the Australian sponsor. In the end, the decision depends on what catches the eye of the beholder’s scrutiny. If the Case Officer is convinced on the face of the evidence provided, then there will likely be a decision to grant the visa without the need to interview the applicants. If they’re not convinced, then the applicants are interviewed and asked a set of questions, which are widely touted around on various internet forums and websites.

In recent years DIBP has reported that it has increased its scrutiny in partner visa applications and have cancelled over 1000 temporary and permanent visas on grounds of bogus claims. There are currently close to 60,000 partner visa applications in the pipeline.

Despite the strict process, several human traffickers have however managed to establish to DIBP the existence of a ‘genuine relationship’ in their ‘partner visa applications’ - successfully dealing with DIBPs scrutiny.

According to the report by the Institute of Criminology, the Salvation Army has helped about 40 women in the past year, who were victims of human trafficking and slavery in Australia. The organisation runs a safe house for these victims, the only one of its kind in Australia.