Australian Immigration Daily News

The following information has been posted on the OMARA website:

As advised in the news item below (3 March 2021), transition arrangements will allow for Australian legal practising certificate holders who cease to be a registered migration agent on 22 March 2021, to use their former Migration Agents Registration Number (MARN) as a temporary lawyer ID number to access their existing ImmiAccount.

Whilst the MARN can be used to access ImmiAccount until such time as a new unique identifier is provided by the Department for ALPC holders to access their ImmiAccount, the MARN must not be advertised in any way. A former registered migration agent who continues to use or advertise their former MARN after commencement of the new legislation may be acting contrary to section 283 of the Migration Act 1958 (‘False representation that a person is a registered migration agent’), which carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.

‘Frequently asked questions – removal of legal practitioners from the OMARA regulatory scheme (information for lawyers)’ have been updated with this information.