Australian Immigration Daily News

Written by Silvia Levame - CPD Trainer in the Migration Advice Profession

I have read, with great interest, the Hansard transcripts of the Joint Standing Committee of Migration regarding ‘Efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration agents’ of Monday 16 July 2018.

On Page 10 of the Joint Standing Committee on Immigration, Mr Neumann referred to page 27 of Ms Markey’s submission, where she expressed that she was ‘gravely concerned about the direction re CPD programs and provision through deregulation’ and was asked to expand on her concerns about what migration agents are actually getting in terms of their continuing practice and development.

Running CPD’s at a higher cost does not in my view reflect that such CPD’s are better quality or that they contain substantial and relevant content needed by agents to work through such complex immigration framework.  I have been a solicitor for 8 years and worked in migration industry since 2009.  Those of us who have been in the industry long enough remember how simple it was to lodge a 457 nomination which virtually contained everything required to for a favorable assessment on the form. There were fewer submissions, no caveats, no begging and pleading with the Department.

In the year 2018, the rules are different, our industry has changed, and immigration became complex, very complex.  The complexity of our immigration framework requires diligent training and ongoing continuing professional support from those who know and understand this framework, those who can offer practical advice and those who are able to pass the knowledge to new and existing agents, in other words, being able to deliver a quality CPD session.  It is an unfortunate over simplification to state that running CPD sessions at higher prices guarantees quality and substance.

I was born and raised in Tajikistan and moved to Australia as a refugee at age of ten.  I went to a public school in the western suburbs which meant that my education was government funded.  I started my journey in Australia without any prior knowledge of English or Australian culture.  I did at the time have a great support system which included my family and my teachers at school.  I wanted to study law but given my socio-economic background the odds were not in my favour.  Nonetheless, I persevered to achieve my goal.  My school had quality teachers and they were receiving countless offers to  leave the public sector and work in private schools.  Nonetheless, they stayed because to them, it was not about the money, it was about the value of education and the ability to provide quality education to all students.  Their effort paid off as many of us went on to achieve our goals and pursue our dream careers. From very early stages of my life, I learnt that better education does not necessarily come from a higher cost.

Is it important to check whether the Department’s Provider Registration and Internal Monitoring System – “PRISMS” – has accurate, up-to-date information concerning the enrolment status of the holder of a student visa?

A recent decision from the Federal Circuit Court, Zhang v Minister for Immigration & Anor (2018) FCCA 1946 (24 July 2018) gives the answer: You better believe it is incredibly important!

In fact, as the case illustrates, proving that the correct information concerning a student’s enrollment can be absolutely vital to overturning a decision by the Department or the Tribunal to cancel a student visa.

Is the saying "you get what you pay for" true when it comes to the quality of CPD for RMAs?

In other words, is there a correlation between what you pay for a CPD course, and how good the content of the course is?

At the recent hearing of the Australian Parliament's  Joint Standing Committee on Migration concerning the current regulation of migration agents, testimony was given by a representative of the Migration Institute of Australia (Bronwyn Markey) raising concerns about a "race to the bottom" on the pricing of CPD costs that is said to have occurred since the OMARA removed its requirement to review and approve course content and replaced it only with a requirement that the CPD provider be approved (in other words, once approved, a CPD provider can prepare CPD course contents without any oversight or review by the OMARA).

JOINT COMMITTEE HANSARD: Joint Standing Committee On Migration - Review processes associated with visa cancellations made on criminal grounds - Sydney

JSCM---review-processes-associated-with-visa-cancellations-made-on-criminal-grounds.pdf