Australian Immigration Daily News

The following information has been sent to CPD providers in the Migration Advice Profession by the Office of the MARA:

Dear Continuing Professional Development Provider,
 
On Friday the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection made an announcement regarding the 2014 Independent Review of the OMARA.

In June 2014, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, appointed Dr Christopher N Kendall to conduct an independent review of the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). 

The Review

The review examined the performance of the OMARA as the industry regulator, its organisational capability and challenges, and the quality and effectiveness of its internal controls and governance.

Consistent with the government’s commitment to de-regulation, the review examined the most appropriate organisational structure for regulating the migration advice sector in order to protect consumers.

It also examined the regulatory framework and powers of the OMARA to assess if they are still appropriate and identify opportunities to reduce regulatory burden.

The review received 32 submissions from 24 individuals and groups. Dr Kendall also conducted interviews and teleconferences with a variety of stakeholders, including registered migration agents, legal services commissions and university providers.

Dr Kendall made 24 recommendations.  The Government supports the majority of the review’s recommendations.

Implementation of the review’s key recommendations will commence later in 2015.  The Department will consult with stakeholders on the implementation of these significant reforms, some of which will require legislative changes.

The final report, entitled 2014 Independent Review of the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), is available at:

http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Pages/reviews-and-inquiries/independent-review-omara.aspx

http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Documents/reviews/omara-review.pdf

In regard to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for agents, the review found that there is scope to reduce the level of prescriptiveness of the regulatory framework governing the provision of CPD. 

The framework will be reviewed with a view to creating a more competitive market for the provision of CPD.  The recommendation is to reduce role of the OMARA to monitoring the registration and eligibility of providers. This would provide greater flexibility to providers of CPD to manage the delivery of their courses.

However, all CPD providers should note that the changes to the CPD framework and the role of the OMARA in regard to CPD will require both legislative and policy changes following a period of consultation. Until these changes are made the current legislative and policy framework will continue.

As a current provider of CPD, you are a valuable stakeholder and we look forward to consulting with you as we consider how to implement these reforms.

Kind regards

XXXX YYYYY [name removed for privacy reasons] on behalf of

ZZZZ AAAAA [name removed for privacy reasons]
Director Registration, Professional Development and Monitoring
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority