Submitted By
Sanat Gupta207/45-49 Shel ley St Sydney NSW 2000 Mob: 04 5177 6199Email : [email protected]
Creating a World Class Migration Advice Industry
Department of Home Affairs
27 July 2020
1 | P a g e
My name is Sanat Gupta. I am a former Registered Migration Agent (RMA) and my Migration Agents
Registration Number (MARN) was 1466755. My registration was cancelled by the Migration Agents
Registration Authority (MARA) on 23 October 2019. I have applied for a review of this decision at the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and it is still under review.
I came to Australia as an international student in the year 2009. I got my permanent residency in 2011
and became a citizen of this beautiful country in the year 2014. During my studies at Australian
National University, I was commended by the chancellor for achieving a Grade Point Average of 6.75
or above in Graduate Certificate of Australian Migration Law and Practice.
I had been dealing with international students and migrants till my registration got cancelled. They
are one of the most vulnerable group of people in Australia as they do not know how Australian rules
and regulations work. I myself was one of them and have been learning the ways of how-to live-in
Australia and work as per the various rules that are applied everywhere in this country.
I am happy to call Australia home as I believe Australian government looks properly after its people.
Rules and regulations are changed time and again for the benefit of the people and migrants intending
to live in this country.
I welcome the opportunity given by the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) to provide
submissions in respect of its review to creating a world class migration advice industry. In my
submission, I will be focussing mainly on Theme 1: A Qualified Industry and Theme 2: A professional
industry. I will be submitting some suggestions under Theme 3 as well as provide some other
suggestions that I believe will be beneficial for the industry.
2 | P a g e
Theme 1: A Qualified Industry
1. Migration Law is a rapidly changing area of law and it is important for industry advisors to be
up to date with these changes to be able to provide proper and current advice. The impact of
COVID 19 on the Australian migration program is still debatable and many changes are
happening on a daily basis due to COVID.
2. All these changes prove that Migration Law is a dynamic area of law and RMA’s must keep
themselves up to date with all these changes as they happen. It becomes extremely hard for
sole practitioners to keep up-to date with these changes which happens almost every week
or so. If RMA’s are not up-to-date, they will be unable to give advice which is relevant and
highly applicable to clients.
3. I support the current existing entry requirements to become a registered migration agent
which requires people for initial registration to have completed a Graduate Diploma and a
Capstone Assessment as well as meeting other criteria like English language requirement
among other things.
4. It is my submission that OMARA should have the power to request English language
proficiency proof from any repeat registration applicants if it has concerns when assessing
whether an applicant is ‘fit and proper’ to be registered.
5. OMARA should have the power to impose conditions on an individual’s registration if it has
concerns with an applicant’s competency level. If the tiering and/or demerit system of
Migration agents is put in place, OMARA should be regularly checking if agents are competent
The federal government has forecasted that migration intake will reduce by 85 % due to travel ban.
There have been unprecedented changes that the federal government has had to implement to
help Australian economy by helping international students. For example- students will be able to
count online studies done overseas towards meeting their Australian Study Requirement. Another
major change is students may be able to apply for Subclass 485 visa outside Australia if they are
unable to return to Australia due to COVID 19.
These changes are unheard of and there may be other changes that government may be
implementing in the short to long term to help Australian economy in response to reduced
international student enrolments. The Australian government may also be making big changes in
the Skilled Migration Occupation List given that it must put Australian citizens first for jobs.
3 | P a g e
to be in that Tier. There should be a mechanism in place to check if the agent has the necessary
competency level to be in that particular Tier. Feedback should be sought from relevant stake
holders such as Department of Home Affairs, AAT regarding the quality of applications lodged
by the RMA when they do a repeat registration.
6. OMARA should be able to do regular audits of RMA and their companies. It should not wait
for any complaints to be raised against the RMA to act. It should regularly exercise its power
to request for further information on any client files when assessing a repeat registration
applicant if it has any concerns regarding RMAs competency.
7. It is my suggestion that OMARA needs to do random checks on RMA’s practice or ask RMA
representative bodies to self-audit their members time and again to increase the quality of
service provided by RMAs.
8. There should be a mechanism in place for OMARA to check the quality of applications (lodged
by the RMA) from the Department of Home Affairs before finalising repeat registration. It
should be done as part of deciding whether the RMA is ‘fit and proper’ or a ‘person of integrity’
to be registered.
9. RMA’s are no longer receiving registration certificate thus they must provide evidence of
being registered with relevant authorities to clients similar to providing a Consumer Guide.
They must show to every client that they are currently registered or not on the OMARA
website or give a separate guide of their own on how to check if he/she is registered or not
by including their MARN number.
Introduction of Supervise Practice
10. I welcome the government suggestion on reform, such as the introduction of supervised
practice before an RMA can provide immigration assistance on their own. For people who
would like to enter this industry I support the provision of a Supervised practice of 1 year
under an approved supervisor.
11. Supervisors: For supervised practice to be effective, there must supervisors in the industry
who are dedicated to the industry. There should be proper mechanism in place to ensure
supervisors are well trained and supported by OMARA. Proper training and resources must be
provided to supervisors prior to and during their supervision activities. If supervised practice
4 | P a g e
is implemented, it’s in the best interest of all stakeholders to have a good pool of supervisors
who will look at the long term growth of its participants and provide good training
opportunities for new comers.
12. OMARA must have an agreement with approved supervisors which specifically states No
Financial gain to be received by the supervisors. A separate code of conduct for supervisors
must be developed in consultation with all stakeholders or these can be included in the Code
of Conduct for Migration.
My experience
I am of the view that if there was a provision of supervised practice before I became an RMA, I would
have learnt from someone who have been in the industry. I could have learnt how to effectively
manage the business, deal with clients properly and manage my personal and work timings.
I would have learnt on how to run a compliant practice even before I could start managing cases on
my own. I believe that due to the lack of this opportunity, I am in the situation that I currently am
where my registration has been cancelled. This can and will be avoided if the person who wants to
become an RMA gets proper supervision and guidance before they can practice on their own.
Implementation of supervised practice will mean that people will have to devote considerable time,
energy, and money to become an RMA. This will ensure that only those people who want to make
their career in the field of immigration will be motivated to meet these requirements weeding out
those people who want to make a quick career and money.
5 | P a g e
Theme 2 : A professional Industry
Migration Agent Tiering
13. I support the Tiered registration framework suggested by the Law Council of Australia in their
submission Law Council of Australia, Code of Conduct for Registered Migration Agents- Third
Round consultation response 13 Dec 2019 paras 25-29
14. In addition to the tiering system proposed by the Law Council of Australia in their submission,
I would like to suggest an additional Tier of Migration Agent under The Department of Home
Affairs (‘Department -Tier 1’) para 25
Category 4: Migration Advice only (Consultant RMA)
15. This category of RMA will only be able to give immigration advice but not immigration
assistance in lodging visas or managing their case files. They can only give oral advice as well
as give that advice in writing to the client. This tier of migration agent must advertise their
services as being consultant only and must provide this information to any client they advise.
They give quality advice to client as well as provide information on what they can expect from
RMA’s should they choose to use an RMA for doing their visa applications.
16. The benefits of this tier are many folds:
a. Clients can come to this agent for a second opinion. Thus, there will be an incentive for other
agents not to give advice that are not suitable for their clients. Since Consultant migration
agents will only be charging for their time and knowledge, they will not be expensive so clients
can easily go to them for a second opinion.
b. This category of agent can guide clients regarding what they can expect from the RMA they
will be using. They can summarise and explain to clients all information available on MARA
website regarding finding an agent, getting help with visa, using a registered migration agent,
if a company advertising immigration services has any RMA or not .
c. This agent can also help in promoting the message that dual regulation has been removed.
Until a proper mechanism comes into place on how to check legal practitioners credentials
before using their services. Thus, helping OMARA in achieving the purpose of a well-informed
client and reducing the number of complaints that they receive
d. The agent can consult many clients with proper advice as they will not be engaged in lodging
and managing visa applications.
e. Agent in this category can practice and then possibly apply for a different Tier if they feel that
they can manage cases after some time of practice. They should not be allowed to lodge and
manage cases until and unless they register under a different Tier.
6 | P a g e
f. Other RMA can come to this Tier of RMA who may need further clarification on any matters
that they are managing.
17. Current Capstone exam oral assessment component should suffice for being registered under
this Tier. This tier of RMA should undergo no less than 6 months of supervised practice before
being registered in this category.
18. Based on my research, it is my understanding that OMARA is going to implement Tiering
system for RMA’s. It is my opinion that this system is going to be of great benefit to the
industry. RMA’s can judge themselves on which services they are able to provide properly.
RMA’s can focus properly on giving quality service to their clients in that Tier.
19. Applicants for initial registrations must be asked which Tier they want to get registered for.
This will help the RMA be confident in his abilities and quality of service that they provide.
20. If the RMA indicates they want to be registered in Tier 1 Category 1: All visa matters- they
must be asked which visa subclasses they intend to lodge in the next 12 months. This should
be closely monitored by MARA to be able make informed decision regarding the RMA’s ability
when he/she applies for a repeat registration.
21. I believe the Tiering System should be applied to existing RMA’s as well. When currently
registered RMA’s apply for a renewal of their registration - they should be asked to choose
the Tier that they want to get registered in. Supporting information and documents should
be sought from them before approving their registration under that Tier. Further clarification
In full disclosure, I must mention my registration as an RMA was cancelled by OMARA. In my
review application with the AAT, I have requested the decision to be changed to Suspension and
have stated I would work only as a Consultant RMA should I complete my suspension period.
During my research for the review I consulted some RMA’s who liked this idea as they believe they
can also benefit from my knowledge of properly advising clients as well as experience on how to
manage a compliant practice so as to not get complaints from clients.
I have met some migration agents who have the knowledge and are honest in their dealing with
their clients. Because they are honest, they are well sought after and thus may not have the time
or able to prepare and lodge those visas application or manage those files properly. Even if they
do it- they may be unable to manage the case properly and thus they make some honest mistakes
unknowingly or may not be 100 % compliant to the Code of Conduct. Clients then complain to the
MARA who in turn suspend them or cancel them. For this reason, they are no longer allowed to
practice- not even give migration advice. Hence, the knowledge they have will have no use at all.
Industry loses someone who could have been a good person giving advice.
7 | P a g e
should be sought from relevant stakeholders’ such as Department of Home Affairs before,
AAT etc. before deciding on the repeat registration application.
22. RMA’s must provide to clients which Tier they are registered in and advise them of what
specified matters they can provide immigration assistance in relation to, and that they may
provide advice/assistance only in those areas. RMA’s should refer clients to other tier of RMAs
if they find that they are unable to help that particular client.
Demerit System
23. It is a wide know practice in legal industry that a legal practitioner is not to act unless there
are reasonable prospects of success. Legal practitioners are required to make a declaration to
that effect and provide their reasons on why they think they have a reasonable prospect of
success.
24. Similar mechanism should be put in place for RMA’s before putting in place any demerit
systems. RMA’s must declare on Form 956 as well as the application itself that he/she thinks
that the application that is going to be lodged has reasonable prospects of success.
25. This will discourage RMA’s from making applications that are vexatious or grossly unfounded.
Currently this practice is governed under Code 2.17 of the Code of Conduct for RMA’s.
However, a declaration on each application being lodged by the agent will keep reminding
them of this Code.
26. A demerits system should then be designed based on the visa applications lodged by the RMA.
Visa approval/refusal/ number of complete applications/ number of requests issued by case
officers should all be taken into consideration in calculating demerit points for RMAs.
27. This can be like demerit points on Driving Licenses. If RMA’s lose certain points OMARA should
have the power to impose conditions on the agent’s registration. However, agents should be
allowed to make improvements in their practice before cancelling or barring them from
practicing.
8 | P a g e
Theme 3: Combatting misconduct and unlawful activity
28. All applications must be lodged through the authorised Immi Account of the RMA. Any visa
application that gets lodged through another immiaccount using the RMA’s MARN must be
flagged and be brought to the attention of the RMA.
29. A mechanism must be put in place where the MARN number on the department system is
linked to the email authorised by the RMA during their registration. This way all emails related
to any applications lodged by using the RMA’s MARN goes directly to the email ID of the RMA.
This will also ensure that demerit system is applied properly for RMAs. If applied properly
RMAs cannot claim that someone else lodged visas using their MARN and was not lodged
through their immi account.
Migration Agency to be set up like Legal Entities.
30. I support the Law Council of Australia, Code of Conduct for Registered Migration Agents- Third
Round consultation response 13 Dec 2019 paras 30-36. As accepted in their response in para
36, which would require significant legislative amendment to Part 3 of the Act. I believe this
may take some time to achieve. However, this can be achieved in the interim through public
awareness campaigns in which they are requested to check OMARA website if the company
as well as RMA associated with them is properly registered with OMARA or not.
31. In the current advanced search option in the MARA website, there is already an option to
search Migration Agents by Business Name and Location. Public should be made aware that
they should also check whether the company advertising immigration services has any RMA
or not and if that RMA has informed the OMARA of being associated with this company. This
may require significant resources from the government, but OMARA can enlist the help of its
registered RMA’s to raise awareness in the public.
32. An Australian company should not be allowed to advertise migration services if they do not
have any RMA in their company. Similar to legal companies in Australia- there should be a
requirement for companies that they must have at least one RMA in their company to
advertise migration related service.
33. Benefit of this system would be that consumers can check if any company is allowed to provide
immigration assistance or not and cross check if RMAs in that company are in the proper Tier
to provide relevant visa service.
9 | P a g e
When I was an RMA – in the first year of my practice, I was approached by many education agents to
do their client visas for them. They also requested me to allow the use of my MARN in their advertising
materials. I declined respectfully as that would mean I would not be able to contact my clients directly
thus being unable to properly discharge my duties as an RMA.
That my decision was right was proved by one client who came to me in mid- 2019 whose student visa
was lodged by an education agent. This education agent used the MARN of some RMA whom this
client had never met nor talked on the phone. Later, her student visa was refused as proper Genuine
Temporary Entrant statement was not provided nor she was guided on which course to take for her
further studies. Had she come to me for the student visa application, I would have advised her that
studying a lower AQF level course than the one she completed previously may not be looked at
favourably by the department in her visa application. I would have also advised her that since she was
in a relationship with an Australian citizen the best course of action for her would be to apply for a
partner visa than applying for a student visa.
She had to apply for an AAT review and go offshore to apply for her partner visa. She lost time and lot
of money- all because she was not consulted directly by an RMA.
10 | P a g e
Additional Matters that may benefit the industry
34. An Internal Complaints procedure must be prepared by RMAs and given to any client they
represent. This should be followed by the client, RMA and the company before raising any
complaints to the OMARA. This I believe will reduce the number of complaints made to
OMARA and significant resource savings can be done by OMARA. These resources can then
be devoted towards increasing the qualification and professionalism in the industry.
Administrative staff for RMAs (like para-legal for Lawyers)
35. There should be a separate category of administrative staffs for RMA who performs
specifically delegated substantive work for which an RMA is responsible. They can have on the
job training and be registered with OMARA after passing a certain exam administered by the
OMARA. It can be designed similarly to Bookkeepers who are certified to do bookkeeping for
clients.
36. This will discourage RMA’s to make use of offshore/onshore administrative staffs who have
limited knowledge of Australian Migration Law. This will also lead to less mistakes by RMA and
they can focus on doing what they do best- give great immigration advice and assistance.
Conclusion
37. I am once again grateful for the opportunity to make a submission regarding these important
changes that will bring positive effects to the lives of one of the most vulnerable people
seeking to visit, work, study and live in Australia. I would be very happy to elaborate on any of
the points I have discussed above.
