Since its inception, the Migration Alliance (MA) has sought to promote and protect the interests of Registered Migration Agents (RMAs). A key aim of the MA has been to reduce and ultimately stop unregistered practice in any form including the unfortunate and often disastrous practice by Human Resources Managers and Education Agents.

However, getting rid of unregistered practice requires legislative change which the MA has been lobbying on for many years. MA has written to the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Senator Michaelia Cash last month providing a comprehensive suite of documents including submissions, briefing papers and draft legislative instruments designed to shut down unregistered practice.

The aim of all this is to provide comprehensive protection to vulnerable consumers by eliminating once and for all unregistered practice.

“While policy-makers and legislators consider the issue, the MA is of the view that migration advisory industry should band together against unregistered practice. At the simplest level, the suggestion is that RMAs and CPD providers should not encourage unregistered practice and in fact work to discourage it” says Liana Allan.

The MA notes that a new entrant to the migration CPD landscape, namely Legalwise Seminars has marked its entry as an accredited provider of continuing professional development by offering a “comprehensive half day program [that] provide….the most accurate, authoritative and current content to help you understand the process of migration law (both legislation and case law)” to “Employers, Agents and Lawyers”.

The MA objects to this bundling of RMAs with unregistered practitioners. “The seminar insults the professionalism of RMAs as it groups them with unregistered onshore practitioners. It begs the question: do seminars like these promote onshore unregistered practice?” says Liana Allan.

EMAIL TO NSW STATE GOVERNMENT

Hi XXXXXXX (name witheld for privacy reasons)

RMAs are not satisfied with the response provided by NSW Government. 

The following was sent to the Independent Review of the Office of the MARA by Migration Alliance:

The attached newspaper report that finds that independent directors who do not understand the specifics of an industry have caused companies to destroy $60billion of shareholder value.

Debunking-the-myths-of-board-independence.pdf

Overseas student enrolments in Australian educational institutions have surged 10%  year-to-date May 2014. This growth rate is over twice the average growth rate in the last ten years with there now being 404,909 enrolments by full-fee paying international students in Australia on a student visa, according to the Monthly Summary of International Student Enrolment Data from the Department of Education.

Notably, the VET sector saw a year-to-date 13% increase in commencements after a 5.9% increase in enrollments.

The report notes that the Vocational Education and Training (VET) accounted for 23.6% of total enrolments and 27.0% of total commencements. Enrolments and commencements in VET increased by 5.9% and 18.0% respectively on YTD May 2013. India had the largest share of total enrolments (18.6%) and of total commencements (16.2%). China accounted for the next largest share of enrolments with 9.9%, followed by the Republic of Korea (7.8%) and Thailand (7.0%).

“The boost spells good news for the sector considering a recent Students and Courses report released by the state-owned National Centre for Vocational Education Research revealed that overseas visa holders studying onshore in 2013 dropped 1.7% year-on-year at TAFE and government providers, multi-sector HE institutions, community providers and private providers,” states a report by Professionals in International Education

Overseas visa students studying onshore in VET fell from 208,300 in 2009 to just 135,200 in 2013 despite continuing to represent one-quarter of all student visa holders in Australia.

Fund managers are making more trips to China to drum up the SIV program to Chinese multi-millionaires, with some reports stating that at least 30 fund managers have jumped into the business of luring China's wealthy to Australia using a SIV program.

The Associated Press reports that the flow of money into Australia could reach as much A$10 billion a year. “More than 1,000 people, almost all from China, have applied so far, and more are expected after Canada cancelled a similar program in February amid a flood of applications. The number also may be boosted by a government review to hasten approvals. More than 60 funds have been started to capture the money, including by the largest banks in Australia” the report notes.

"These are not your usual equity or private-equity type of investors," said Bill Fuggle, a partner at Baker & McKenzie in Sydney who advises immigrants on the process and asset managers on compliance with visa rules. "Fund managers need to visit China and convince them of investing not just for a visa, but in turn to preserve their wealth and improve their lifestyle."

The pace of visa approvals has stepped up since the Liberal-National coalition government was elected in September, with 282 granted in the 12 months through June, compared with just four in the program's first seven months.

The report notes that the investment inflows from people with approved visas as well as those expected from 610 people on the waiting list totaled A$4.5 billion as of the end of June. About 39 percent of that money went into managed funds as of March, according to data from the office of Michaelia Cash, assistant minister for immigration and border protection.