Requirements For Becoming A Registered Migration Agent In Australia Essay.

Assessment Criteria

1. Accurate answers to the questions demonstrating knowledge of legislative and regulatory provisions.
2. Answers are justified by clear reference to the relevant facts, identify logicalassumptions you have made about the facts in answering questions.
3. Arguments and information are clearly and logically presented.
4. Demonstrated understanding of principles and values of a registered migration agent.
5. The variety of options available is discussed in your answers with an assessment of the risks where relevant.

The Human Resources Manager from Wood Engineering enquired about Jeffrey’s professional fees and disbursements. All fees will be paid by Wood Engineering. Jeffrey quoted his professional fees would be $3,800.00 inclusive of GST plus disbursements to be paid to the

Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and any other disbursements. Jeffrey requested a payment of $1,500.00 upfront in order for him to commence work. The Human Resources Manager informed Jeffrey to proceed and stated that they would transfer the deposit by electronic transfer tomorrow and requested particulars of his bank account.

Prepare a letter of advice, in plain English, for Jeffrey in relation to the procedural, accounting and ethical requirements he would have to meet to comply with the requirements under the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 and the Code of Conduct in relation to being appointed by Wood Engineering as their migration agent and charging them for the work.

You are also required to stipulate, as far as practicable, all “disbursements and out of pocket expenses” and the requirements to make a valid visa application for a Class UC sub-class 457 Temporary Business Entry visa for Josephine.

Four months later, after the visa application for the Class UC sub-class 457 Temporary Business Entry visa was lodged, Josephine told Jeffrey that she is actually paid substantially less than the amount stipulated in her contract with Wood Engineering which was provided to DIBP. Jeffrey subsequently contacted Wood Engineering and they confirmed it was true that Josephine was paid substantially less than what was stated in her contract.

What are your obligations as a registered migration agent (if any) under the Code of Conduct?

Wood Engineering is hiring Jaffery Jacob as a registered migration agent who completed a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law and Practice. Now the Human Resources Manager is asking for his fees and disbursements. He gave a details about the his fees which include $3,800.00 as professional fees including GST plus disbursements and will pay in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). Here, Jeffery also requested to pay another $1,500 of upfront in order of commencing work. Now the company confirms the process and asked him about his bank account. Therefore Jeffery needs to fulfill all the terms under the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 and the Code of Conduct for become a migration agent and charging for the work.

The Migration Act 1958 was introduced for administrative for the implementation of the Migration Reform Act 1992 by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. By the application of this act, the Australia Government makes the provision of the migration registration board. The Migration Act 1958 control and regulate the migration registration of agents. The regulation also works on the misconduct of the migration agent which works according to the code of conduct and help to modify the standards of professional conducts and quality of services for migration. A particular standard are set for the proficiency and knowledge. The agent must have the ability to control the complaints and investigate every issue and must maintain the discipline. If any person complaint against any issues then it is the duty of that agent to investigate on that issue and process on the migration according to the need of the client.

The Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) was establishes by the agents to work on the self-regulation on the migration process. The MARA board participates on the migration process comprised by MIA board members. The organization works on the registration, monitoring, investigations, imposing disciplinary sanctions on migration agents and sometimes they involve through a lawyer.  

The Migration Act 1958 provides the legislation of registration as migration agent. The person who is seeking to become a registered agent must complete the age of 18 years. The sec- 286 of the Migration Act 1958 gives the provision that an individual can apply for the position of the Migration Agent. The sec-293 of Migration Act 1958 defines that the agent must complete the age of 18 years. However, the Migration Act 1958 never allow any corporation, a firm, a partnership, an association or an unincorporated body to registered for the position of agent. In a law firm there can be several agents but they always work individually for the cases and liable for the matter. The agent, who is appointed for handling the case, might not be able to present due to sickness, leave of absence or having ceased to practice then another agent from the law firm can take the authority to handle the case.

The person who wants to become a registered agent he or she must obtain the registration form from the Registration Applicants page from the MARA websites in between 30 days of continuing period. Through the MARA website he or she will get the registration form. The sec- 288(3) applies the legislation where the person who wants to obtain the registration must complete the form through the MARA website. According to the sec- 288(5) of Migration Act 1958 the candidate must give the fees of the registration through Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Regulations 1998. The sec- 294 make the provision where the person who is seeking for the agent registration must be the citizen of Australia or have permanent residents in Australia or the citizen of New Zealand who hold the special category of visa.

Requirements for Registration

Next the person will require to give an examination under the Migration Act 1958 of sound knowledge where he or she need to show their barrister or solicitor certificate in Australia or will have a certificate of MARA where he or she attained a course. The MARA course must are on the Graduate Certificate course offered by Australian National University (ACT), Griffith University (Qld), Victoria University (Vic) and Murdoch University (WA). The on-exempt person who also wants to register under the act for the migration agent position must pass the exam before applying for the registration.

Another qualification should present in the migration agent is proficient in English language. Through the IELTS test, the English test will be taken and minimum score must be 6.5 in any one of the four components of speaking, reading, listening and writing.

According to the sec- 290 of Migration Act 1958 stated that the applicant must be a fit and proper person along with the good character and integrity. He or she must not have any past of lack of good character and integrity or any undischarged bankrupt. In the sec- 292 it is defined that the applicant must not have any cancelled registration in the past 5 years. If it is found then he will not have permission to apply for the registration. The sec- 292A also said that the applicant should not have any work history where he or she was a former agent and under the barring period, if so then he or she not applicable for the position. The Australian Federal Police gave a character certificate to the applicant and submitted to MARA.

The importance of the professional indemnity insurance is one of the mandatory thing for the applicant. The sec- 292B of the Migration Act 1958 and Regulation 6B of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 stated the provision where it is mentioned that the applicant of migration agent must have a professional indemnity insurance which have coverage of minimum $250,000. In this insurance coverage the migration agent can use the amount at the time of migration or in the repeat registration. In Australia the applicant of migration agent can get the professional indemnity insurance from any insurance providers.

The disbursement means a license conveyance cost which is incurred by the solicitor or lawyer can claim out the general conveyancing work. Every state has fixed a minimum amount which is charged for the conveyancing work. Disbursements are processed through several activities which include obtaining government certificates, public authorities, registration of mortgage property, administrative documents like photocopying, mailing, attained settlement, pest inspection and strata reports under strata title.

The out of pocket expenses define the amount of money which was paid out of the individual’s own cash reserves.

The Class UC sub-class 457 Temporary Business Entry visa gives the opportunity to the workers who come to Australia for temporary period. The requirements of a valid visa application for a Class UC sub-class 457 Temporary Business Entry visa are:

• The validity of the visa will be applicable for up to 4 years and stay in Australia with family members.
• The subclass 457 visa holders have no limitation to travel in and out of Australia.
• The workers must approve as an approved sponsor by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
• The must have the minimum knowledge of English language.
• The tested health certificate is must to have the 457 visa.
• The 457 visa holders can apply for the permanent resident visa in Australia and become an Australian citizen. They need to prove the reason to stay in this country.
• The person who holds the visa can work under the nominated occupation of the sponsor employer. Medical practitioners and general managers only have the right to work in an associated entity of the sponsors along with the nominated occupation.

The Code of Conduct for migration agents is authorized by the requirements of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 No. 53, Schedule 2, Regulation 8 and the Migration Act 1958Subsection 314(1) for regulate the conduct of migration advice to their clients.  The obligations of the migration agent are:

• The migration agent must interact with the client to know their status and upgrade the details.
• The migration agent must keep track of the fees and expenses for the service. Maintain every record along with the financial management.
• There are several responsibilities of a migration towards the other agents who works with him or her.
• The migration agent must act with proper diligent and honesty with the client and always deals in fair and good faith.
• Establish the best standard for the prudent system in the office of administration.
• Must woks on the require issues of the client and solve according.

According to the case study, it can be stated that when Josephine told Jeffrey about the less payment which was mentioned in the contract, Jeffrey enquired about the statement that she informed about it to the Wood Engineering.  Now it is the duty of Jeffrey who is the migration agent of the company, communicates properly with proper diligent and honesty to the client and asked for the rest amount of the charges.

Reference 

Akbari, Ather H., and Martha MacDonald. "Immigration policy in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: An overview of recent trends." International Migration Review 48.3 (2014): 801-822.

Boucher, Anna, and Lucie Cerna. "Current policy trends in skilled immigration policy." International Migration 52.3 (2014): 21-25.

Breen, Fidelma. "Australian Immigration Policy in Practice: a case study of skill recognition and qualification transferability amongst Irish 457 visa holders." Australian Geographer 47.4 (2016): 491-509.

Campbell, Iain, and Joo-Cheong Tham. "Labour market deregulation and temporary migrant labour schemes: An analysis of the 457 visa program." (2014).

Francis, Ronald D. Birthplace, migration and crime: the Australian experience. Springer, 2014.

Groutsis, Dimitria, Di van den Broek, and Will S. Harvey. "Transformations in network governance: the case of migration intermediaries." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 41.10 (2015): 1558-1576.

Hersch, Anthony. "Disbursement funding: The benefits for SME law firms." Precedent (Sydney, NSW) 139 (2017): 46.

Hollifield, James, Philip Martin, and Pia Orrenius. Controlling immigration: A global perspective. Stanford University Press, 2014.

Humphrey, Michael. "Securitization of Migration: an Australian case study of global trends." Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios sobre Cuerpos, Emociones y Sociedad 6.15 (2014): 83.

Jacobs, Keith. Experience and representation: Contemporary perspectives on migration in Australia. Routledge, 2016.

Rhode, Deborah L. "What We Know and Need to Know About the Delivery of Legal Services by Nonlawyers." SCL Rev. 67 (2015): 429.

Wright, Chris F., and Andreea Constantin. "An analysis of employers’ use of temporary skilled visas in Australia." Submission to the Senate Education and Employment References Committee Inquiry into the Impact of Australia’s Temporary Work Visa Programs on the Australian Labour Market and on the Temporary Work Visa Holders (2015).