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MARA went too far now
A recent decision of MARA dismayed me regarding our practice's compliance of Clause 5.1 . It is foolhardy of this agent to breach other Clause of the Code. But the Mara concluded the Agent's charge was not reasonable as little work had done from the prospective of MARA .( Para 134 ) I think it went too far.
It raised a question that how much work we should do to reasonably charge $1000 ?if my consulting fee is $1000 per hour, I think it is nothing wrong as long as my client is happy to pay.Given the Migration law is a very complicated area, the precise advice for client is priceless.
The other parts of the decision is also appalling in my opinion.
Para 141 Encouraging and assisting clients, for a fee, to prolong their lawful stay in Australia has a direct and profound negative effect on the integrity of Australia’s Protection visa and migration programs. It also tarnishes the reputation of the migration advice profession. As such, I find that the Agent has breached his obligations under clause 2.23 of the Code.
Helping the client get a lawful stay in Australia is the essence of migration service in my opinion. It is a matter of Executive and Legislature to close this loophole if they wish. Why did this agent breaches Clause 2.23 of the Code ?
Para 145 the Agent does not appear to have made any attempt to do so.37 The Agent’s failure to encourage his clients to approach the Department to regularise their status,..., constitutes a further breach of clause 2.23 of the Code.
Are we obliged to encourage client to approach the department under Code 2.23? For some clients, keep hiding may be in the best interest of them in some instance
I can not agree MARA's standing of Clause 2.23 and 5.1 in this case. It is particularly machiavellian of MARA trying to put this agent down. The agent may made some mistakes, but a decision of cancellation is obviously disproportionate. You can see where this could go, can't you. We should do something about it.
As we are in a period of uncertainty , an agent may fail to continue deliver the service due to a lot of reasons, I think Australian government should set up an agent fee protection service in migration service industry liken tuition protection service in international education industry. It is in the best interest to protect vulnerable customers and reputation of industry. Any RMA's client will be compensated or transferred to another RMA if the RMA is sanctioned by MARA.
Do you know what should I do if I would like to push this idea into reality ?
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The issue of what happens when agents become "unavailable", be it for whatever reason, death, insolvency, ill-health etc, is something that I have raised with the relevant parties, over many years. My suggestion was to have a compulsory insurance policy in place, to cover such contingencies. So far, it appears to remain in the "too hard basket".