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Immigration Daily News The Capstone complaint letter sent to the Minister and othersAustralian Immigration Daily News
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The Capstone complaint letter sent to the Minister and others
To
The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
Department of Home Affairs
GPO Box 9984
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Australia
Re: Capstone Assessment as a requirement to register with OMARA
Dear Sir/Madam,
We as recent Migration law graduates who have completed Graduate Diploma in Migration Law and Practices (GDMLP) and preparing to register with your office, together with continuing students who are in the process of completing this Diploma, jointly write to you in this letter regarding the above mentioned assessment.
We strongly believe that Capstone assessment is unnecessary and unfair. Introduction of this assessment raises serious questions over the abilities of Australian Institutions involved in the delivery of Graduate Diploma in Migration Law and Practices (GDMLP), that includes the Ministry of Education itself.
The introduction of Capstone test raises serious questions over the abilities of Australian Universities to teach and test their students .
Capstone assessment was introduced last year (2018) for Migration Law Graduates or candidates who seek to register with OMARA to become Registered Migration Agents (RMA). We understand that this assessment has been introduced to maintain high standards of professional knowledge among Migration Agents and to maintain the quality of service they provide to their clients. We also understand the fact that in the past many or some Migration agents have exploited their clients and caused issues for authorities in the past because of their unethical practices and lack of professional knowledge. We believe these types of Migration Agents are still there involved in unethical and unprofessional practices.
Many students who graduated last year with Distinction/High Distinction from different universities took this exam in February this year and have failed Capstone assessment due to, what we believe, is unrealistic testing and its environment.
We all candidates mentioned at the bottom of this letter, request you to address the issues raised below to make Capstone assessment fair for everyone.
- 1. Time frame: The exam is divided into written and oral exam. The oral exam is held for 1.5 hours while the written part is held for three and half hours and is divided into Part A - Multiple choice questions, Part B - Short answer questions and Part C - Practical writing task, Client letter and submission letter. The time frame for part A is 36 minutes, Part B is 60 minutes and Part C is about 2 hours. The reason of failure for most of the candidates is the unrealistic and unfair time frame of part C. Most of the candidates found that the time frame is not enough for completing a letter to the client and submission to the Department of Home Affairs in about 90 minutes which is the approximate time left after completing other parts of exam and reading the case scenario. Most of the candidates found that addressing the complexity of the case scenario and writing letters need at least another half an hour.
The candidates who started with part-C could not complete one or the other parts of the assessment.
- Compulsory parts and passing marks: The passing mark in the exam is 65% which is much higher than the other exams conducted in various other fields. We think it is unfair but still that is not an issue for most of the graduates to get 65% overall who have passed with good marks from Universities. The main issue is getting 65% in Part- C is compulsory to pass the assessment, which seems impossible due to the time frame given to complete part-C. Our request is to either increase the time frame to complete Part- C or decrease the passing percentage to 50% in part C.
To comment on ‘Oral assessment’ of the capstone exam, it seems that the college of law has failed to comprehend the depths of the migration law. The duration of the oral exam was for 1.5 hours where students were provided with on the spot scenario and were asked to prepare for it in 15 minutes. The real challenge was to assist the client for 50 minutes with complicated queries. The college of law assessors played the role of very difficult clients who demanded the students to provide the maximum visa options of at least 6 - 7. Students were put under immense pressure throughout the oral exam because the assessors were pushing the students to rush in. The worst part was where students were only allowed 15 minutes to write a file note, which is impossible in the real-life scenario, given that students are inexperienced and the speed that ‘The School of Law‘ wants to see, comes with the combination of experience plus time.
- Capstone assessment is not a requirement for existing agents: The new Capstone assessment was not imposed on existing Migration agents which is totally unfair on the new candidates. The existing agents have only completed Graduate Certificate which used to be 6 months while the new candidates have completed Graduate Diploma which is of 1-year duration. The old agents only paid about $12000 while existing candidates have paid $25000 to get the qualification. Most of the candidates have left full time work to complete this intensive study and have struggled to pay Capstone exam fee of $2750 and now they are being made to sit in the exam again for $2200.
It would be absolutely fair if all existing Migration agents are required to pass this assessment to continue their registration with OMARA, including the one who assisted OMARA in preparing the structure of Capstone assessment.
- Money making Drive: We believe that Capstone assessment is a money making drive. New aspirants who want to become registered migration agents are financially burdened as the application fee to sit in the test is unrealistic. To sum up, we would like the College of Law to justify the amount of fees ($2750) students have paid to enroll in this Capstone assessment. It appears to us that “this assessment is a money-making strategy for the college of Law or whoever is involved in deciding the assessment fee structure, as the application fee is exorbitantly high”. We really question the structural fairness of this capstone assessment in terms of fee, amount of support provided to the students by the college of law, exam content and the duration of the exam.
For students Capstone testing fee of $2,750 is unrealistically high and by considering the number of fails The College of Law is making it won’t be one off. Even $2200 to re-sit in the exam is not justified at all.
As we all are aware that in the first year of registration, RMA’s must meet the criteria of required CPD points that allow the newly registered migration agents to enhance their legislative knowledge and hone their skills. There is no denying that the migration law is a dense subject and require experience to provide expert and in-depth advice on complex issues. On the contrary, it’s unfair to assess fresh graduates against such rigorous criteria. Rather, volunteer work experience could be a choice or compulsory hour of training can be introduced or attending Tribunal session could be made compulsory which may make a positive impact to student’s knowledge and practical developments.
Students could go and attend the Tribunal in their own time and could have applied for volunteer positions within AMIS Australia.
Furthermore, we strongly believe that the purpose of the Capstone assessment in the present structural format is to stop entering new Migration professionals into the business than maintaining or raising professional standards. The clear evidence we see here for that is, not including existing Migration agents in this so called rigorous Capstone assessment.
We urge the OMARA to investigate the issues raised in this letter against the college of law and check the structural flaws of Capstone assessment in order to make the assessment fair for everyone so that the new graduates could pursue their career as registered Migration Agents.
We look forward to hear from you soon.
We students have also started an online petition . Please find the link below where 375 students have already signed the Petition.
Yours sincerely,
Migration Law Students 2018-2019 group
Arnab GHOSH ROY
Email: aghoshroy.migration@gmail.com
Ritu Saini
Email: ritu.saini2717@gmail.com
Kuldeep Sandhu
Email: kuldeepwinder@gmail.com
Barjinder Bhullar
Email: b_bhullar@live.com.au
Gursimran Singh
Email: gursimranminhas@hotmail.com
Navid Zoriasatein
Email: Navid_zuraster@yahoo.com
Jawad Niaz
Email: jawadniaz@gmail.com
Kalil Shaikh
Email: Kalil.shaikh@gmail.com
Amit Kumar
Email: ca.sindhi12@gmail.com
Nyta Ka
Email: anita.ka9999@gmail.com
Rahul Aggarwal
Email: aggarwalrahul3@gmail.com
SuJiang
Email:suesujiang@hotmail.com
Faiz Mohammadi
Email: mohammadifaiz7@gmail.com
Baraa Alameddine
Email: Baraa.alameddine@gmail.com
Rakhee Singh
Email: rakheesingh76@gmail.com
Stefannie Costa
Email: stefanniecosta@gmail.com
Rajvir Kaur
Email: rajvir_dimpy@yahoo.co.in
Lucky Ekhator
Email: luckbless57@yahoo.com
My name - Kulvir Kalsi
Email- sherrykulvir@gmail.com
Svetlana Yakusheva
syakusheva@yahoo.com
Kuldeep Sandhu
Kuldeepwinder@gmail.com
Lei Luo
Email: au.leiluo@gmail.com
Deependra Bhattarai
Bhattaraideependra@gmail.com
Kavinder Singh Vinayak
Kavinder_singh@yahoo.com
Amit Kumar
ca.sindhi12@gmail.com
Priscilla Ryan
Email: priryan2@gmail.com
Subigya adhikari
Email: Asubigya@gmail.com
Akanksha
Email: Akanksha.atmc@gmail.com
Rakhee Singh
Email: rakheesingh76@gmail.com
Mahesh Singh
Email: mbs1611@gmail.com
Hasret Aydogan
hasretaydogan94@hotmail.com
Navid Zoriasatein
Navid_zuraster@yahoo.com
Amarinder kang
amansidhu001@gmail.com
Daniel Zhu
daniel.gzhu@outlook.com
Varun Mehta
mehtavarun777@gmail.com
Julie Grinos
jgrinos@hotmail.com
Reza Aryagohar
aryagohar@gmail.com
Shelley Rong
shelleyrbb@googlemail.com
Laura Wang
Lanpingwang@yahoo.com
Seyed Masoud JALILI
Masoud_jalili@iCloud.com
Imran Ahmad
Vishal Goud Raigir
vishal_raigir@yahoo.com
Hassan Baghian
Mhbyazd@yahoo.com
Nhu Nguyen
nhuxnguyen@gmail.com
Rajvir kaur
rajvir_dimpy@yahoo.co.in
Varun Mehta
mehtavarun777@gmail.com
Aman Kang
amansidhu001@gmail.com
Hirut Tadese
htadese@gmail.com
Hasret Aydogan
hasretaydogan94@hotmail.com
Navid Zoriasatein
Navid_zuraster@yahoo.com
Serkan CAGLAR
serkancaglar0101@hotmail.com
Shaistha Jabeen
shaisthaj@gmail.com
Braishna durzada
Br_durzada@hotmail.com
satya Shukla
shuklasatya@yahoo.com
Kalil shaikh
Kalil.shaikh@gmail.com
Iranga Dewapura
info@nicloconveyancing.com
Comments
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Tuesday, 12 November 2019Can you show your IELTS test result here, A Lawyer? I doubt if you'll get Band 8 on all 4. RACIST Bastards!
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Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Liza Kellner: It is not appropriate to denigrate others because you have a problem.
I can guarantee most Australian born Migration Agents will pass the IELTS test with at least 7 in all bands
Not sure what your reference to 8 is related to because it is totally irrelevant.
Claiming he is Racist because he agrees with the need for English is CHILDISH and has no relevance to racism at all.
You really need to mind your manners when posting in public.
I suggest from the way you wrote your sentence it is possible you are Indian.
In correct English we would say "I doubt you would achieve a score of 8 in all bands on the IELTS test NOT (I doubt if you'll get Band 8 on all 4. )"
If you think it is ok to practice without English skills then maybe that is the reason why MARA (Immigration) has imposed this Capstone test. Perhaps they are preventing people from entering the profession due to a past history with Migration Agents who do not have sufficient English skills
It is clear that many Migration Agents do not understand the regulations, can't read the regulations or understand them let alone prepare a legal submission that affects the life of the applicant and needs to be in correct English.
This industry needs people with skills in English and understanding of the regulation and how to read assess them. Anything less is putting the public at risk and causing them untold grief.
I shudder at the thought that your intention is not as above and only for an income/revenue with no thought of the consequence to the applicants -
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Its about time left wing universities don’t have the power to pass people of incompetence and put them into the workforce to undertake a profession they are not capable of practicing in.
If you read the statements and the replies in relation to the Capstone Exam these people can barely speak English. -
Friday, 29 March 2019
Standards have dropped in Uni's considerably, not sure its a left wing thing or whether its more if they fail someone early they lose the ongoing revenue stream of a student doing further semesters (particularly internationals), thank god something like the capstone exams exists. From experience I can say that completing the College of Law GD after a law degree is considerably more harder than the law degree.
Though in the end this is better for the consumer to be honest it may be worse for us as it means picking up a lot less matters from clients that have used incompetent agents. -
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
It's common knowledge that it does all across Australia. So your idea ain't new, mate :-)
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Saturday, 04 May 2019
I agree, but the question is why this test is made compulsory for new agents? The OMARA should assess the existing agents also, I am quite sure most of them will not pass.
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Sunday, 05 May 2019
The real question is not why the test has been made compulsory for new applicants but the idea of testing existing agents who number in the Thousands would serve no purpose.
It would give the college of law an income of $25,000,000 or more if introduced.
Professions progress and Migration Law has become much more complicated in the last 4 years. every profession has to adjust to the changes.
The Capstone test is not relative to the knowledge gained in the Diploma. That is the major issue. This is being considered at the moment and is expected to be more in line with the level of knowledge of a graduate.
The fact there are two levels of testing seems to be unjustified but I cannot see it being removed.
Given that, new prospects need to adjust to the need to take the Capstone test and pass to practice. -
Friday, 29 March 2019
The level of English competency should have been checked by the university before enrolment. Those who cannot speak English will not be able to get 7 in IELTS test and will not get their registeration as RMA.
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Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Surely not, actual checks and balances? Yes, the point of the exam is to test the student so they don't destroy peoples lives. Clearly not everyone failed...
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Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Pathetic
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Thursday, 28 March 2019
I am pleased a Petition has been sent but I am a little disappointed it was not in correct English and did not specify exact prices for the Capstone Test.
I think since this is a critical submission time should have been taken to ensure it was correct in all its elements and pricing.
The Capstone test is not some $3000 odd dollars. It is an exact amount. $2,750
Why say $3000 odd dollars.
This is a submission about a legal qualification and the use of approximations is a reflection of the lack of importance shown in preparing the petition.
You will be Migration Agents. You need to be accurate and correct with all your comments and facts.
This does not reflect well on the creator of the petition. -
Friday, 29 March 2019
Thanks for your feedback Paul. This has been considered well and updated. Please check the link again.
Thanks -
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Paul it would best if you leave the English language competency of the petioners aside and be sensitive to the bigger issue on hand.
People are frustrated not because they are afraid of the exams but the way it is designed for failure.
Iam sure there the competent bodies who can decide if the petioner language is up to the mark. -
Saturday, 30 March 2019
You need to read all my comments re the capstone test
Bit English is critical to writing submissions
Wrong wording, wrong punctuation, wrong spelling of words all make for a poor submission and the possibility of misunderstanding and wrong advice.
This is the migration profession and it relies on accurate communications so the English is important and cannot be set aside as you suggest -
Friday, 28 June 2019
I totally agree with you on the importance of correct English, and in that case, I'd like to request that this exam should also be taken by all existing Migration Agents given that they are dealing with people's life as well. What do you think?
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Wednesday, 02 October 2019
I would be happy to take the exam. I have schooled one person who failed and she has now passed it at her second attempt.
Capstone is not difficult if you understand the act and the regulations
HOWEVER:
It is not a test designed for beginners. -
Thursday, 28 March 2019
couldn't agree more!!! I failed short of 2.5 points in Part C of the writing component and I have to pay another 2200 just to resit and get that 2.5 point mark again? Define unfair.
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Thursday, 28 March 2019
this made me laugh out loud : It would be absolutely fair if all existing Migration agents are required to pass this assessment to continue their registration with OMARA, including the one who assisted OMARA in preparing the structure of Capstone assessment.
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Thursday, 28 March 2019
Was that sarcasm or you are one of the Older Migration agent
Immigration blog
If anything that letter and petition supports the need for a capstone test, surprised that the writers could even obtain a "Get 7 in English test result" as they have described it.