Australian Immigration Daily News

Written by Silvia Levame - CPD Trainer in the Migration Advice Profession

I have read, with great interest, the Hansard transcripts of the Joint Standing Committee of Migration regarding ‘Efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration agents’ of Monday 16 July 2018.

On Page 10 of the Joint Standing Committee on Immigration, Mr Neumann referred to page 27 of Ms Markey’s submission, where she expressed that she was ‘gravely concerned about the direction re CPD programs and provision through deregulation’ and was asked to expand on her concerns about what migration agents are actually getting in terms of their continuing practice and development.

Ms Markey stated that ‘prior to that, every CPD activity that you wanted to run had to be presented to the OMARA, and each activity was given an activity number and approval. Under the new legislative instrument and regulations, the providers now are only approved.

What they do under their approval as a provider has become, to a certain extent, deregulated…. We saw at the beginning of the year a race to the bottom in pricing. CPDs were running in some places for $27 an hour-point at the moment.’ She continues ‘the pricing levels were unrealistic… ‘you can’t have good educational quality at that level. Ten different subjects in 10 hours?’

While in principle I would tend to agree that charging $27 an hour-point is too low and even unrealistic, that does not mean that the CPD activity is a race to the bottom in quality. Price wars, in industrialized countries are a ‘fact of life’. (Apple v HP; Google v Altavista, Starbuck v Café Nero).

A big cause for price wars is ‘predatory pricing’ which was, unfortunately, started by an approved CPD provider since the beginning of the year. What this provider may not have calculated is that, unless they have a big cash reserve at hand, in the long run, a price war will not benefit anyone.

Even the MIA, who once upon a time had the monopoly in the provision of education, acknowledged at the beginning of the year that ‘we are projecting a loss in the vicinity of $250K should our income from our CPD’s meet expectations’ (MIA Bulletin, Message from the CEO, 23 February 2018).

Perhaps it could be suggested to the OMARA to meet/consult with all the approved providers at the beginning of each year to discuss and determine what should be set as the minimum price per point/hour for that particular year.  It would be naïve to presume that this measure will guarantee quality. But it will be reassuring to know that it will guarantee that no predatory prices will be introduced at any stage after the minimum fee hour/point is agreed. Luckily, Australia is a free enterprise country. Therefore, it will be up to each approved provider to set the price they consider reasonable for their workshops, but always departing from that agreed minimum per hour/point.

This measure would constitute a fair and responsible safeguard against predatory behaviour.  It will also avoid an unwanted –and unnecessary- race to the bottom in pricing. It is also important to point out too that due to the exorbitant increase in the lodgement fees, our professional fees have stagnated considerably. Fees that are stagnant in our profession, have forced, many of us, not only to lower our professional fees but to look for affordable alternatives in order to meet our annual CPD requirements which in itself does not mean poor quality training.

In addition to being a trainer, I am also a sole practitioner. I have to do my points every year. Last year and this year, I chose LTA. This is what I have to say about the LTA presenters:

Last year, I attended a 10CPD Workshop on 21 October 2017.

This is the feedback that I gave regarding this session:

I was very pleasantly surprised by the presenter, Ruslan Ahmadzai. He is knowledgeable, friendly and versatile, which for a trainer, are indispensable traits. LTA was well represented and I thoroughly enjoyed the full day.

In general, a great workshop with a very pleasant presenter which no doubt, is an asset for LTA.

This year, I attended a 10CPD workshop on 13 March 2018 because I was interested in the topics, as I did not need additional points. The 10CPD workshop was conducted by Christopher Levingston. This is what I think of him:

Christopher is a tireless communicator. His style is friendly and engaging and he has the ability to maintain attendants’ participation throughout a long day, navigating through complex –and at times very dry and obscure- issues with elegance and humour.

He has beautiful handwriting and his colourful charts are priceless summaries of information.

I can assure you that this 10CPD workshop was nothing but excellent and we all received quality education throughout.  As I said, I have been a Registered Migration Consultant for 21 years. As such, I have attended hundreds of seminars, webinars, masterclasses and workshops and heard many speakers. Christopher Levingston is an absolute asset to the teaching profession: one of the best without a doubt and one of the few people I honestly respect for his knowledge and ability to brilliantly engage with his audience.

Finally, I believe that ultimately, the quality of the training does reflect the commitment and skills of the trainer. The price, in this case, is irrelevant. Integrity and knowledge are two basic elements in this equation.

If a good trainer chooses to prepare and deliver a 10 CPD workshop in one day, it is up to the skills, knowledge and integrity of that trainer to perform to the best of their ability.  I have been a trainer since 2004. From 2005 to 2006, the training arm of my company, named Training Minds – Trainers + Consultants was an accredited CPD provider with MARA. I did not renew the registration of Training Minds with MARA and preferred to continue working as a freelance trainer and consultant since then.

I am proud of my record and reputation. This year, I have accepted to prepare and deliver 10 CPDs immigration related workshops for LTA. I know exactly what I am getting myself into. My dedication, preparation and delivery will be exactly the same as if the charge was double or three times as much.

Finally, I would like to invite any member of any organization to attend my sessions and to tell me, honestly, whether they cannot have good educational quality in 10 hours.

Please complete the survey which has been sent to you via email so that we can all have our say and be heard on this issue.