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Breaking Australian immigration news brought to you by Migration Alliance and associated bloggers.
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Why I don't ring 131 881. Ever.
#boycott131881
I have just called the 131 881 DIBP number three times and asked the same question three times. Given the number of times the DIBP have wasted my time with pointless requests since 2001 (when I became an agent), I believe that I am perfectly entitled to ring the 131881 DIBP number and ask a question to test their knowledge and service. This was my question:
I am married but me and my husband have been separated for 2 years. I have been living with my new British partner for 12 months. He is on a 457. Can I lodge a spouse visa now?
131881 staff member 1: No you need to be divorced first.
131 881 staff member 2: No you need to be divorced to lodge the application.
131 881 staff member 3: Yes you can.
After waiting up to 50 mins on hold to speak to someone who could 'help' I recommend that anyone seeking advice do NOT call 131 881.
The answer is YES YOU CAN LODGE A SPOUSE VISA APPLICATION.
When you need advice, my advice is ask a Registered Migration Agent who can give you the right advice the first time. You can find a Registered Migration Agent at www.mara.gov.au or on this website using the search function.
On 8 April 2014 an agent was asked not to call 131881. In a turnaround, approximately two weeks ago I was told to ring 131881 by a Director at the DIBP when I tried to email a delegate directly. My advice to agents is to ring another agent. DIBP cannot help and even if they try, their advice will not be at the same standard as another RMA.
Comments
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Thursday, 05 March 2015Gabrielle - exactly! So why have a 131 881 number then? Just have a dob in line for enforcement and let RMAs do the job of 131 811. The public have been duped into thinking that DIBP can actually provide them with help. Don't they call it the 'helpline'? Actually it is quite deceptive that DIBP even have people on phonelines trying to provide information to the public on how to apply. It is stupid for them to put people on client service counters as there can be no service. It should be all about lodgement, process and enforcement. NO ADVICE. NO HELP. THE DIBP CAN HELP NOBODY. They are the judge, jury and executioner and the public are going to them for help?????????? Anyone who is a member of the public DO NOT call 131 881. Go to www.mara.gov.au and find a qualified registered migration agent.
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Friday, 06 March 2015
Go to any suburban street and then to a corner house and ask the occupant your question and the chances are the answer will be better than from 131881. Even an " I don't know" is better than bullshit.
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Friday, 06 March 2015
DIBP's appalling advice is not limited to the phone. Over the counter information is often just as erroneous. I remember a MRT case where the Perth office had given advice that the person was eligible for a regional sponsored visa only to be refused. The MRT member was very sympathetic and scathing in his/her assessment of DIBP advice. I had a client who was informed by Lee St counter staffer that he could not lodge an application for partner visa until he had undertaken the medical. He stated that his current substantive visa was about to expire and was told that this made no difference since he could lodge after visa expiry. Whilst technically he could lodge after expiry, it did make one hell of a difference since he could not satisfy schedule 3 criteria. He was forced to withdraw application, fly offshore, obtain ETA [was within 28 days of expiry] and return to lodge another through me, without the medical, I might add.
Always ask for any advice to be put in writing because DIBP will always state that no officer would have given such advice. We all know they do. I also abhor the avoidance of providing a full name [or even a first name in many cases] on DIBP correspondence. It's motto might be "No care or responsibility taken" -
Monday, 09 March 2015
1) If those were your exact words, there was insufficient information to provide advice in the first place - e g ambiguous.
2) Under the Act, where does it say DIBP officers are authorised to provide advice ?
As a current student at ANU, it has been drilled into us that DIBP is the last place to go for advice.
Why don't you take this up with OMARA - Provision of migration advice by someone not authorised by the Act can attract a penalty of $10,600 I believe ? -
Monday, 09 March 2015
Steve, you are right. But guess what? They provide advice in a vacuum. DIBP get paid irrespective of the information and advice provided to the public. I am pretty sure the DIBP staff are 'exempted persons' under the Act, much like parliamentary staff.
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Monday, 09 March 2015
It is not just the DIBP and I have a very bad experience with the Australian High Commission Colombo where I operate most of my business. In your case you at least get an incorrect answer. But what happen here is it is really unlikely you can contact them as it is the same telephone no given to every one. If we are registered after paying this whole lot of money and comply with all the regulations keeping the industry reliable where thousands of unregistered and fake agents are fishing , why they can not have a separate line for us. Totally disappointed.
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Monday, 09 March 2015
Professional Standards makes serious errors systematically and routinely......the whole of DIBP is riddled with incompetent fools ....who are unaccountable no matter what errors are made .
OMARA is a total horror as the CEO and Minister cover and protect the fools that work there -
Thursday, 12 March 2015
The DIBP call centre staff is absolutely useless, forget about the advice, I asked them a question about how to arrange the Comm Debt repayment, as my client has a debt according to the FOI report. They put me on hold several times and still were unable to provide me with the answer. Is there anyone who could please suggest me what to do. I am in my first year of practice and I haven't dealt with such situation before. Do we have to submit the Form 1448 and the cover letter?
Thank you in advance
Svetlana Gunaratne -
Friday, 13 March 2015
It has always been the case that DIBP give incorrect information. Remember lodging a student visa application for a client via registered post. After a week client called DIBP and was told she have to leave the country cause they didn't receive the application and visa now expired, client crying in my office. I went to Lee street office but officer had no issues issuing new visa on the spot. Few days later I received application back that was sent via post as duplicate, stamped on application received date before client called DIBP, perhaps before visa expires date. Traumatic experience for my client. This is one example of many.
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Thursday, 15 October 2015
2 hours 13 mins and still no one picks up the phone.
Australian government offices services are worst than 3rd world countries. -
Thursday, 15 October 2015
The only time 131881 comes in handy is when you make reference to a particular case because if/when the telephonist refers to it on the system, there is an acknowledgement of your inquiry. This is important when other DIBP contact methods fail and you can establish that you have at least tried to sort out the mess they have caused. It has been addressed by you; the poor agent who is the meat in the sandwich.
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Thursday, 15 October 2015
horrendously high departmental fees .....seriously incompetent case officers , Nasty OMARA , tougher changes all the time and a shrinking client base .
The ONLY reason I stay in the profession is the the help I give lots of nice people ..I have met over the years ...... -
Friday, 30 October 2015
I rang them to find out they can't use my recent passport number! They asked for my previous passport and well the previous doesn't exist as I was under my mother since I was only 4 at the time coming into Australia as a permanent resident. So now I have no previous number to go by either! They don't have the details and yet I heard through the Dutch Consulate that a man who entered in the 50's had all the details when applying!! They had them for him. It seems my claiming for the FEG through the government is a waste of time !
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Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Hi - Would anybody aware how to raise HAP ID for spouse. I have initiated by Skilled Worker (47) Visa and also created the immi account and generated my HAP ID however, am unable to generate a HAP ID for my spouse and Child.
Please help, if anybody is aware how to fix this issue.
Thank you.
Himanshu Sahoo -
Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Overall, DIBP is the worst department that I ever came across.
No more comment -
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
I know everyone is advising against calling 131881 and I totally agree having had terrible experiences with them myself. But what's the alternative when you just want to speak to a human being on the phone without being robbed of $60 or more.. does anyone have any alternatives?
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Thursday, 30 November 2017
Totally agree with all this, but what's the alternative? Crying out for help here
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Thursday, 30 November 2017
CG - the alternative is to book an appointment to discuss your situation with a person who is appropriately trained and equipped to answer your questions and provide advice (i.e. Registered Migration Agent or Solicitor who specialises in Migration Law). Chase - if you feel that $60 (or more) is too much to pay for professional advice that will probably save you thousands (and years), then you probably need to reassess your thinking.
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Thursday, 30 November 2017
Biljana
To get an apology from global feedback is a win in itself. The number of times I have had no response from same office to legitimate enquiries would astound you.
Immigration blog
Why would you ask a DIBP staff member (call centre or case officer - but especially call centre) for legal advice? Surely this is the same as asking a police officer for legal advice regarding a criminal case? These persons are responsible for enforcing the law - they do not study the law and therefore tend to have very little knowledge or accurate understanding of it. Consult your law library, professional body, another Migration Agent or 'a friend' - any of these resources would probably prove to be more knowledgeable.