Australian Immigration Daily News

This is a general notice to all RMAs who are looking to have their points reported for CPD activities by providers.

It has not been possible for CPD providers to report points to the OMARA as the website has been down.

The website is now back online but this means there may be a delay in reporting.

If it is ok for the Office of the MARA to issue 'warnings' about agents on their website then it is ok for MA to issue warnings to case officers on ours.  The following is a complaint about Lorraine Sullivan which has been sent to the DIBP by a RMA:

I’m a registered migration agent (MARN: 00000000) [number removed for privacy reasons]

On 8 March 2015, my client Mr. XXXX Zhou’s student was cancelled by the Department at the Sydney Airport before he was immigration cleared. I was notified of Mr. Zhou’s situation that night by a friend of his. I rang the Department’s airport office on 02 83378524 at around 9:51 pm and spoke to a male officer (name unknown to me), who advised me to email a copy of Form 956 to his office before I could obtain information about Mr. Zhou from the office. The Form 956 would be forwarded to Mr. Zhou to sign at the Villawood Immigration Detention Facility (VIDF). I emailed the Form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at around 11:11 pm pursuant to the officer’s instruction.

 The following statement has been released by Sydney TAFE today:

“As an approved scholarship fund provider, Sydney TAFE is still approved to accept contributions for 457 Visa contribution fund A. Please be advised that in relation to commission payments, we do not use 457 funds for this purpose.   All contributions received from 457 Visa contributions go towards training and scholarship programs for Australian and permanent residents.”

Robert Cousins - Associate Director Student Learning and Facilities

LLLLLL  YYYYYYY

The following email is being received by RMAs in Queensland at the moment:

Dear AAAAAAA [name removed for privacy reasons]

The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the OMARA) is monitoring the conduct of registered migration agents to verify agents' compliance with the Code of Conduct.
 
The OMARA is authorised under section 316 (b) of the Act to “… monitor the conduct of registered migration agents in their provision of immigration assistance and of lawyers in their provision of immigration legal assistance” and section 316 (g) of the Act to “… monitor the adequacy of any Code of Conduct”.
 
The current focus of the OMARA is on agents that operate in Queensland.  You have been randomly selected for monitoring.  It would be appreciated if you would take the time to complete an online survey relating to your business practices and compliance with the Code of Conduct for registered migration agents.  The survey can be accessed by following the link below:
 
Follow this link to the Survey:
Take the Survey
Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://dibpau.qualtrics.com/WRQualtricsSurveyEngine/?Q_SS=8G4utjXH8pVYHrf_2bm23MBNxEgwpJX&_=1
 
Please note that you may be selected for a monitoring visit in the near future.  Should this occur, the OMARA will be in contact with you to make appropriate arrangements for the visit.
 
Thank you for your cooperation.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding this matter.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
XXXX YYYYY
Assistant Director
Registration, Professional Development and Monitoring
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
Email: [name removed for privacy reasons]

Advice from Christopher Levingston, Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer is that absent a formal written request under section 308 or other statutory power there is no requirement for any RMA to comply with or take part in "random monitoring".