Migration agents are encouraged to take two surveys which we believe will assist us in our efforts to represent you at our DIAC and Office of the MARA meetings:

1. Survey on the Migration Agents Gateway:

The migration agents gateway is supposed to be a gateway just for migration agents.  The issue agents have is that it is not private or locked, but open to the public.  This means it is actually a public gateway.  Agents have been complaining about the length of time it takes to get a response from the gateway, the message that shows on the gateway before agents post a query (opressive and insulting) which asks RMAs to agree to a host of things before asking a question, and the answers from DIAC being incomplete or not answering the question.  In my next quarterly meeting with DIAC I am going to take the results of the survey below and sit down with DIAC and try to create a better solution.

TAKE THE MIGRATION AGENTS GATEWAY SURVEY

2. Survey on Migration CPD and the allocation by OMARA of 2 hours for 1 CPD point at conferences:

The Office of the MARA introduced the new CPD framework a while ago now.  The problem is the impact is now starting to show in the profession.  Have you noticed?  No more large conferences.  By large I am talking about 400 + migration agents in the one room at the one time in Sydney and about 300 in the one room at the same time in Melbourne. 

We used to have these conferences but as soon as the Office of the MARA imposed 2 hours for 1 CPD point the conference numbers started to slip dramatically.  Now we are at the point where the Sydney conference for 10 points received 6 bookings for 2013.  Why?  Because our best guess is that agents are not willing to sit around for 20 hours to get 10 CPD points.  A survey has been released by Legal Training Australia about CPD.  Please complete the survey.  It would help everyone.  LTA plans to meet with the Office of the MARA next week at 2pm and take these results to demonstrate how the Office of the MARA have 'killed the conference' in our profession. 

TAKE THIS MIGRATION CPD SURVEY

The DIAC and OMARA seem to have wrapped us up in more and more red tape, imaginary regulations and policy over the last couple of years.