| Description |
40 pages ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
1. Introduction -- 1.1. Background -- 1.2. Reference group -- 1.3. Consultations -- 2. Key findings -- 3. The market for migration advice -- 4. The objectives of the scheme -- 5. Strategies -- 5.1. The registration process -- 5.1.1. Competition -- 5.1.2. Competency standards -- 5.1.3. Fee structure -- 5.1.4. Coverage of lawyers -- 5.1.5. Travel agents -- 5.2. Disciplinary process -- 5.3. Complaints -- 6. Consumer information -- 7. Role of community based advice agencies -- 8. Who should pay for regulation -- 9. Comments on options presented in the exposure draft -- 10. Options for change -- 11. Preferred model |
| Summary |
(4) That where it is in the public interest to do so, the provision of free migration advice be directly funded for that purpose rather than funded from revenue generated by the regulation of the migration advice industry; (5) Inthe interests of developing a cohesive industry with consistent standards, legal practitioners who provide immigration assistance should still be required to register as migration agents; (6) If an industry run complaints resolution service is established in the migration advice industry it should: have a non-disciplinary focus but have a formal arrangement with the industry disciplinary body to refer complains that raise questions about an agent's ethics, or serious issues about their professionalism and competency, to the disciplinary body; be industry funded |
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Recommendations: (1) To improve competency standards, the industry needs to address the content of entry level training and structure its registration process to recognise supervised practice, accredited continuing education and specialist accreditation; (2) That, in restructuring its regisration and accreditation process, the industry should not set significantly higher entry standards with the effect of making the industry less competitive. Rather agents should be encouraged to invest in improving competency through positive incentives; (3) The registration fee structure should reward those agents who have developed their skills and competency through undertaking supervised practice, continuing education and specialisation by setting lower registration fees for agents who do so |
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and be accessible by virtue of an information campaign to ensure consumer awareness; (7) The aim of regulatory change should be to move the industry to self-regulation as a means of developing industry standards and improving services to clients; (8) Because of the state of the industry, including consumer protection concerns, voluntary self-regulation is not immediately achievable and self-regulation needs to be underpinned by statute at this stage; (9) A transitional arrangement needs to be in place to enable the industry to prepare for self-regulation.̀ |
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operate in a way that satisfies consumers that it is independent of its members and is both consumer focused and fair in its processes and outcomes; in this regard care must be taken to compensate for the imbalance in bargaining power between migration agents and their clients; be linked to the industry association's Code of Ethics to ensure that the association has some means of ensuring that agents comply with the outcomes of the complaints resolution process; be structured through its funding arrangements and the association's requirements on members to encourage agents to resolve complaints with consumers before consumers seek to raise the matter formally with the scheme |
| Analysis |
Committees and inquiries |
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Consumer protection |
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Federal issue |
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Immigration consultants |
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Migration Agents Registration Scheme |
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Registration |
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Standards |
| Notes |
"March 1997" |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Notes |
Commonwealth of Australia 1997 |
| Subject |
Migration Agents Registration Scheme (Australia)
|
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Migration Agents Registration Scheme
|
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Immigrants -- Services for -- Australia -- Evaluation.
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Immigration consultants -- Australia.
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| SUBJECT |
Australia -- Emigration and immigration.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh86007504
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| Author |
Australia. Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.
|
| ISBN |
0644382864 |
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