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Immigration Daily News OMARA now fully integrated into the DIBP and reporting to Mary-Jane Jones, Regional Director NSW/ACTAustralian Immigration Daily News
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OMARA now fully integrated into the DIBP and reporting to Mary-Jane Jones, Regional Director NSW/ACT
The following email has been received by Liana Allan of Migration Alliance today:
"Thank you for your email of Wednesday 2 September where you sought information about the OMARA. The 2014 Review of the OMARA recommended that the OMARA be fully integrated back into the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
This integration was completed with effect from 1 July 2015 and the OMARA now sits in the Visa and Citizenship Services Group of the Department which reports to the Secretary of the Department. The OMARA now reports directly to Ms Mary-Jane Jones, Regional Director NSW/ACT.
[NAME REMOVED TO PROTECT PRIVACY]
Director Registration, Professional Development and Monitoring
Office of the MARA
Department of Immigration and Border Protection"
Comments
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Friday, 04 September 2015sad all the pathetic incompetent staff ( Professional standards / registration ) remain. Changes in structure etc mean nothing without new competent staff and the removal of all that dead wood ....
· Migration Alliance likes this comment. -
Friday, 04 September 2015
Given we had to write, ask and then wait a day to be told what was happening, and given they didn't know who the person was who was running OMARA yesterday (see blog from yesterday), and given they never notified the profession in any official news release, probably not 'guest'!
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Friday, 04 September 2015
So there you are.
Independence and Impartiality at it's governmental best.
The Law society are independent, we should be as well!
It would seem that "none of us" are stakeholders (MA & MIA as representatives of the great unwashed)
There is always a good side to everything - no more harbour-front office suites with hot and cold running champagne at our expense. Perhaps the registration fee will reduce to properly reflect the effort in regulating us.
Good to know that "Name Removed" was decent enough to at least give a speedy reply for a covert operation that happened 2 months ago. -
Friday, 04 September 2015
Can we now advertise us as "Immigration Department registered"?
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Friday, 04 September 2015
New service standards
If we call them by phone "We will aim to answer an average of 85 per cent of calls to our national contact numbers (131 881, 131 880 and 133 177) within ten minutes."
No prize for this answer, who among us has had this occur?
I note the words that they will identify themselves have been removed from their service standards.
Sure they do at times, but only by first name to ensure we cant email them.
I called an officer, who I could barely understand, who asked me how did I get his number. I told him that he had given it to me! -
Friday, 04 September 2015
Why wasn't there an official news release about this on or before 1 July 2015 to inform the profession? Maybe we aren't important enough. Silence speaks volumes really. Now it is US v THEM. Now they really are the enemy. When they ask for our client files, we need to be VERY careful about giving them the client files because it will breach the client confidentiality. For example, if the client doesn't want DIBP to have certain information which is contained within a file, then when OMARA asks for it, say no on the grounds it will breach the client's privacy - DIBP might be wanting the information. DIBP might use OMARA to extract it from a client via a s308 notice. I am very concerned about the conflict of interest.
The Immigration Commission that MA proposed would have been so much better. -
Friday, 11 September 2015
I agree with your comments. But surely we need not worry about privacy here, all comments should have a name, we should know who are writing the comments. I guess it is possible that the DIBP/MARA goons will infiltrate this site, but stuff them. People our Business, Centers of Excellent WHAT A JOKE!!! I for one will ignore MARA should they request a file. I recently refused to host an office visit (Thanks for your advice Christopher) and will continue to do so. The MIA/MARA link was steeped in conflict, but DIBP/MARA is worse.
Immigration blog
Given that we are technically colleagues do we get the internal phone/email list and co-worker courtesy from the CO's?