Australian Immigration Daily News

Australia's Registered Migration Agent regulator has finalised 135 complaints in six months, combining firm sanctions for serious misconduct with education and proportionate intervention in less serious matters.

New data released by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) provides a positive picture of an active regulator taking a measured and increasingly transparent approach to professional standards.

OMARA's Migration Agent Activity Report for 1 July to 31 December 2025 shows that the regulator finalised 135 complaints during the six-month reporting period.

Importantly, the outcomes demonstrate that complaints were not treated with a one-size-fits-all approach. Thirteen complaints resulted in sanction decisions, while 41 matters involving less serious conduct were addressed directly with the agent through education and reminders about their obligations under the Code of Conduct. A further eight matters resulted in suspected breach notices, giving the agents concerned an opportunity to correct their practices.

Seven complaints were finalised after no breach was found. Another 66 were recorded as “other” outcomes, a category that primarily covers matters outside OMARA's jurisdiction, complaints without merit, or withdrawn complaints where no further action was considered necessary.

The figures suggest a regulator willing both to act and to distinguish between serious misconduct, remediable shortcomings and allegations that are not substantiated.

Where serious misconduct was established, OMARA took decisive action. Ten registered or former migration agents were sanctioned during the reporting period: four registrations were cancelled, two agents were suspended, three were cautioned and one former agent was barred from registration.

The cancellation and suspension decisions involved significant conduct, including false or misleading information, fraudulent documents, undeclared immigration assistance, failures involving client money and records, and conduct intended to evade or undermine migration law.

At the same time, the report shows that OMARA calibrated sanctions to the circumstances of each matter. In one case, an agent received a one-month caution after making an error that caused serious detriment to a client, with OMARA expressly taking the agent's otherwise diligent practice into account. That distinction is important: effective regulation requires serious wrongdoing to attract serious consequences, while isolated errors and less serious breaches should be assessed proportionately.

The report also reflects a stronger emphasis on proactive compliance. OMARA established a dedicated Compliance and Monitoring Section in October 2025 and began reporting on the use of its statutory powers to monitor compliance with the Code of Conduct from 1 November 2025.

This increased visibility is a welcome development. Reporting on the use of statutory powers allows the profession and the public to see not only the sanctions imposed at the end of an investigation, but also how OMARA uses its information-gathering and procedural powers when assessing registration applications, investigating complaints and monitoring compliance.

The broader profession remained stable and experienced. The number of registered migration agents increased from 5,337 at 30 June 2025 to 5,400 at 31 December 2025. Almost half of all RMAs - 47 per cent - had worked in the industry for more than 10 years, while only eight per cent had entered the profession during the preceding 12 months.

Consumers and businesses also continued to rely heavily on RMAs in complex visa categories. RMAs were used in approximately 70 per cent of Business Skills visa applications, 62 per cent of Employer Sponsored applications and 45 per cent of General Skilled applications during the reporting period.

Taken together, the data presents an encouraging picture. OMARA is removing agents responsible for serious misconduct, using educational measures where improvement is possible, rejecting or closing matters that do not warrant regulatory action, and increasing its focus on proactive monitoring and transparency.

For a profession whose work can have life-changing consequences for clients, that combination of enforcement, education, procedural fairness and public reporting is exactly what effective regulation should seek to deliver.

Source: Migration Agent Activity Report for 1 July to 31 December 2025.pdf