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". 

An email has been sent by DIBP's 457 policy section to Stakeholders re 457 training benchmarks:

Dear Stakeholder,

In response to recent allegations of misuse of funds contributed for the purpose of meeting the subclass 457 training benchmark requirements, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection is conducting an audit of known training funds.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has kicked off a National Compliance Monitoring Campaign and will target about 1200 businesses found to have underpaid their workers over the past three years.

Employers who have previously short-changed their staff $500 or more will be audited this year to ensure they have not ignored advice and assistance given to them by Fair Work inspectors in response to their past contraventions, according to a statement from the ombudsman Natalie James.

“We obviously frown on those who refuse to fix problems or continually flout their workplace obligations so they have a competitive advantage over others doing the right thing,” said Ms James.

Maximum penalties for contraventions of workplace laws are $51,000 per breach for a company and $10,200 for an individual. Business sponsors of foreign workers also face the risk of losing their sponsorship rights.

Ms James says the campaign aims to assess the level of behavioural change among employers to assist the Agency understand the drivers of non-compliance and to help inform future pro-active compliance and education activities.

Recently, cleaning contractors came under the spotlight after spot checks resulted in wage recoupments of almost $763,000 for some 1200 workers who were mainly overseas born or on student visas. Latest data indicates there are almost 25,000 businesses operating in the cleaning services industry in Australia employing almost 100,000 workers.

There is a lot of scuttlebutt around at the moment concerning Training Benchmarks A and B.

Consider this offering from a private organisation in our industry who happens to be in the training benchmark B “market" (ie they only sell benchmark B):

"The Department of immigration has informed ‘stakeholders of a change to policy guidance relating to industry training funds. No commission can be paid from Training benchmark A contributions and Training Benchmark A contributions cannot be made to TAFEs and Universities if there is a statutory Industry Training Fund operative.”

With some analysts predicting that the Australian dollar is heading toward the 50/60 cent levels against the US Dollar, Australia is once again priming up as the world’s favourite destination. "U.S. travelers would choose to visit Australia over almost every other country on Earth,” according to TripAdvisor. The Huffingtonpost recently updated a story it carried some years ago, to once again highlight the reason why people choose Australia, with notable attractions/activities actually missing the list.

• In Australia, it's incredibly normal to take a gap year. Taking 12 months off between school and going to university has become almost a rite of passage for the estimated 200,000 school leavers each year.
• Australians have swimming pools in their oceans.
• People in Australia really know coffee. Starbucks tried to invade the scene a few years ago, but Aussies didn’t break from their traditional coffee haunts Starbucks was forced to close 61 of its 87 Australian stores and eventually sell out off its remaining operations.
• Two words: Gold. Coast.
• Precious, just-born, infant turtles crawl into the Australian sea from January until March. And there are turtle guides who will help you find and say hi to them.
• The minimum wage in Australia is $16.88. SIXTEEN DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-EIGHT CENTS! In America, minimum wage ranges by state from $5.15 (Georgia) to $9.19 (Washington). The ugly truth is that sometimes, workers have to sue their employers to get their fair share.
• A bunch of lakes in Australia are pink, thanks to algae and prawns.
• You can apply for a travel visa to Australia online. No consulates, no lines, no heartache.
• Australians don't sacrifice sustainability for tourism. Lord Howe Island, the most beautiful island of coral reefs, is only allowed to host 400 tourists at any given time, no matter how many want to come.
• There are more kangaroos than humans in Australia, which makes life more adorable. To deal with all those marsupials, experts have concocted kangaroo birth control and a national Kangaroo Management Plan. Another population control -- sniffle, tear, sniffle -- is the kangaroo burger.
  Australians make a vacation out of helping the planet-- on a conservation holiday, you can measure plants in the rainforest or monitor owl species at the base of the Australian Alps
• Everybody in Australia has accents.
• When life gets rough (from eating too much Vegemite or winning too much rugby), Australians can always escape to the perfect blue heaven known as Lake McKenzie.
• In Australia, there are creatures called fairy penguins. After they get home from long days at sea, you can visit their colonies by night.
• The Great Ocean Road, the Aussies' seaside version of Route 66, takes you past some pretty stellar rock formations.
• Australians have the widest steel arch bridge in the world. You may have heard of it.