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When friends (OMARA) drop in
You know the feeling don't you?
You are at home with your jim-jams on. It's Sunday night at 8pm and there's a knock at the door. You peek through the peep-hole and it's your pesky neighbour who wants to come in and chat.
You decide that discretion is the better part of valour so you crouch behind the door pretending not to be at home.
When OMARA sends you an 'invitation' to participate in monitoring this is what they want to ask you:
Monitoring-audit-checklist---General-Audit.pdf
Check it out. In particular at question 27 why does the OMARA want to know if you are a member of the MIA or MA?
I think that the checklist is a useful tool for you to self-check your compliance and monitor yourself.
You don't need the OMARA to check your compliance with the Code of Conduct. You are a professional and absent any complaint it should be assumed that you are compliant.
If the OMARA doesn't have enough work to do and wants to pester busy RMAs at the end of the year, perhaps they can look at ways to save money and find ways to reduce red tape. That would help everybody.
The OMARA is morphing into the.....
Operation
Maximum
Annoyance
Regulation
Authority
If anyone doesn't understand what the issues are that the OMARA is seeking to tease out by a monitoring visit, just ask me (it is ''busy" work). There are not enough complaints to keep them busy. Hasn't anyone heard of the saying 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'?
Comments
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Thursday, 20 November 2014Unfortunately it is more important to promote compliance based on fear than on cooperation... It seems, given that we have to be protected from ourselves from time to time...
Very difficult to be effective where there are so many obstacles for RMAs to do their job, which makes it much more probable to make honest mistakes without having to have the fear of GOD into the equation... I have no problems with monitoring as a result of a complaint or three but monitoring for the sake of monitoring is akin to what the ATO does, JUST IN CASE you didn't declare your aunt's sizeable inheritance in Bulgaria, directly deposited into the account of your brother's second cousin's three times removed dementing mother, of which you may be a signatory under a power of attorney... now, THAT would make more sense.
Maybe it's because RMAs are more likely to have family in Bulgaria.... who knows - all I know is that if the Authority does not trust us, then they should not register us because this actually makes clients uneasy about contracting our services. The Department clearly doesn't think their customers need us and perhaps MARA is having less and less work since there's less and less complaints due to a decrease in the use of Agents for this very reason...
Question - did EK or those pesky RMAs we know to have repeatedly breached the Code EVER get an invitation to participate in self monitoring?
I'm sure both MA and MIA would be more than happy to assist MARA in the pursuit of doing the right thing by assisting our members through a hands on approach to the business/administrative/financial and code of conduct compliance rather than react to support its members when they're audited... oh, wait - MA is doing that already... mmmmmmm..... -
Thursday, 20 November 2014
EK has never been an RMA.
Why isn't this document provided to RMAs in advance of monitoring to help them keep compliant in the mean time?
I think the DIBP do know that their customers need us and they envy us because we know more than them and are better trained than they ever will be. It must be difficult to constantly be outsmarted by a migration agent if you are a case officer. Not to mention a terrible salary and working with government zombies all day with no entrepreneurial spirit at all. How sad. I guess they dream up ways to monitor agents to give themselves a power kick. -
Thursday, 20 November 2014
There is enough information /evidence to warrant a removal of Radjenovic .
I challenge the CEO and Senator Cash to have an open forum/inquiry with what is wrong with Professional Standards . Let the Profession and the public monitor and subject Radjenovic to examination and scrutiny
Very amusing to see another staff member employed in Professional Standards ....what a joke I think there are 3 assistant directors . -
Thursday, 20 November 2014
These compliance programs are not set up based on a needs assessment or any objective evidence. The programs are created to promote personal career agendas and goals of the individual manager. By demonising migration agents the managers have a reason to justify setting up a compliance program, which then gives them a demonstrable example at the next job promotion interview, and the MA and often the compliance officer are the unwilling victims. This behaviour mainly occurs because many of the managers in public service roles do not have any academic qualifications (unless it is a specified calling, such as teacher, lawyer, psychologist etc). Therefore they rely on their wit and manipulation to survive and get promoted, and any one with a professional or scientific ability is a threat to these people and dont often get past the lower levels of public service roles. Also research has shown that psychopaths and people with narcistic traits are attracted to organisations with a high turnover of staff and eventually work their way to the top and then create havoc.
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Thursday, 20 November 2014
Hence Radjenovic the Director of Professional Standards at OMARA. What I want to know is how non-lawyers with no legal qualifications can be investigating lawyers using due legal process. Michael is right -they demonize agents to create sensation and fear which then leads to more people needed to 'fix the problem' created by them.
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Thursday, 20 November 2014
we need to push Ingram , Cash and Morrison for an independent investigation into Professional Standards and their methods or at the least open a dialogue with MA , MIA and the profession .(I know it will never happen !) Serious issues of competency , integrity , capacity , honesty need to be resolved so the profession has confidence in OMARA. Very sad to see a senior Australian public servant Mr Ingram acting in this way ....refusing to accept there are serious issues that need to be addressed .Are we in Putin's Russia or Australia ?
Immigration blog
The accompanying email from the OMARA that goes with the attachment:
Dear XXXXXXXXXX (agent)
I am writing to confirm a monitoring visit by the Authority at [insert migration agent's address], scheduled for [insert date] at [insert time].
The monitoring visit will include questions about your office, client and file management practices and an audit of one of your client files. Please assist by having one of your client files ready for inspection by the Authority.
To assist you in preparing for the visit, I have attached a document outlining the points of interest that the Authority will be covering. You may also wish to consider having another person present during the visit.
Our visit will also provide an opportunity for you to provide feedback or guidance on the Code of Conduct requirements and the operations of the Authority, including the online registration process and communications from the Authority.
If you have any questions about the monitoring visit, I can be contacted on the office telephone number below or by return email.
Yours sincerely,
XXXX XXXXX
Assistant Director
Registration and Professional Development
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
Ph (02) 9078 XXXXX [number removed to protect privacy]
Fax (02) 9078 3591