Australian Immigration Daily News

This instrument amends the Migration (IMMI 18/003: Specified courses and exams for registration as a migration agent) Instrument 2018 to set out prescribed courses, examinations, examination scores and periods for completion of scores and exams and also amends IMMI 18/003 to reflect the fact that the Capstone Assessment examination must be passed before 1 January 2021.

The Migration (Specified Courses and Exams for Registration as a Migration Agent) Amendment Instrument (LIN 21/005) 2021 (the Instrument) is made under subregulation 5(4) of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 (the Regulations) and amends Migration (IMMI 18/003: Specified courses and exams for registration as a migration agent) Instrument 2018 (IMMI 18/003). IMMI 18/003 specifies courses and examinations that a person must have passed to be registered as a migration agent, where the person has not previously been registered or has not been registered in the preceding 3 years. The Instrument amends IMMI 18/003 to:

- update references to the instrument-making power in regulation 5 of the Regulations to reflect amendments made to that regulation and section 289A of the Migration Act 1958. These are consequential amendments that do not change the substance of the requirements already in place under IMMI 18/003;

- reflect that The College of Law Limited ceased to be a provider of the Capstone Assessment

Source: Capstone---WOOD---March-2021---Instrument.pdf

The Director of the Office of the MARA has provided the following information to Migration Alliance: 

From 22 March 2021, amendments to the Migration Act 1958 will commence, allowing an Australian legal practitioner (lawyer) to provide immigration assistance in connection with legal practice. This means that a lawyer may provide immigration assistance without being a registered migration agent (RMA). 

These changes are as a result of the Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Act 2020 which also requires the removal of lawyers from the regulatory scheme administered by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). 

The Australian Study Requirement PI was updated on 26 February 2021 to cover new students.

Section 3.13.3 (Online study) now states:

Note: The requirements that overseas students can study up to 25% of their course online and visa applicants must have been physically present in Australia for study to count towards meeting the Australian study requirement will not be applied to COVID-19 impacted Subclass 485 visa applicants.

The Director of the OMARA is sending out the following email today:

As advised in email correspondence of 22 February 2021, you have been identified as a registered migration agent (RMA) who holds an unrestricted legal practising certificate (ULPC).

Legislation commencing on 22 March 2021 will remove holders of ULPCs from the statutory scheme governing RMAs and as a result, on that date, holders of ULPCs will be removed from the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) Register of Migration Agents (Register). 

Source:  Benchmark