Official complaints issued to DIAC

Details

Created on Friday, 24 August 2012 15:34

Written by Editorial staff

Official complaints have been submitted to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) recently, in relation to lack of support and resources provided to its migration agents.

Artem Naumov, an Australian registered migration agent based in the ACT, outlined several discrepancies with the types of materials necessary to carry out his job versus what he says the DIAC actually provides.

Mr Naumov sent an email dated July 30 describing 12 ways in which the DIAC is failing to deliver in terms of service standards and clear and correct information.

Starting with the point that there is not clear material about updates in legislation, state sponsorship rules or skills assessment authorities provided in one email subscription or official government website, Mr Naumov goes on to describe the unfair cost of staying informed of skilled occupations and state sponsorship rules. 

Attached to the email is a formally written letter describing his second point in the email - dissatisfaction regarding the lack of availability of two particular publications: "This is a complaint about Australian Government’s failure to meet its statutory obligation in relation to provision of copies of Procedure Advice Manual (PAM3) and Migration Series Instructions (MSI) to all deposit libraries in Australia for 8-11 years," he wrote.

"DIAC spends taxpayer’s money to write MSI and (PAM3), and they must be available to Australian migration agents without a fee from any deposit library. It is DIAC’s statutory obligation to provide copies for distribution via Commonwealth Library Deposit Scheme (LDS)."

Points three to six cover issues regarding lack of essential materials such as free downloadable and 'fillable' application forms for the public, prior notice regarding updated forms, a simple way to book appointments without waiting in the queue with other customers, a MARA register search form in languages other than English and 'search by language' option.

The remaining six points of the email Mr Naumov concedes are "more difficult to implement" but says are nonetheless important and could save a lot of time for everyone.

He suggests functional online resources for a variety of application related tasks, as well as unified rules for certified copies and translating documents for all skills assessment bodies and international student applications, as well as unified standards for migration related applications and bodies.

Currently, the DIAC has an extensive website providing information for various groups requiring immigration services, including workers, migrants, students, employers and refugees.
Web materials are available to certain applicants both in Australia and overseas. Students, working holiday makers, employer sponsored workers and other specified groups can apply for their stay in Australia online.
Contact information is available on the DIAC website for various departmental offices, national telephone numbers and visa enquiries.