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Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Act 2020 (Administrative Refusal & Scope Provisions)

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryAustralia
Operative dateAugust 11, 2020
CategoryMigration advice industry / administrative procedures
Policy toolSanctions / adjudication requirements
Affected groupMigration agent applicants and registered migration agents

Policy effect

Implemented operative administrative powers under Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958 enabling the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) to formally refuse an application for registration as a Registered Migration Agent if an applicant fails to provide requested information within the prescribed timeframe, and expanded the statutory definitions of providing immigration assistance and making immigration representations. Phase scope: Early administrative provisions; full dual-regulation deregulation for unrestricted legal practitioners was deferred to March 2021

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Implemented operative administrative powers under Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958 enabling the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) to formally refuse an application for registration as a Registered Migration Agent if an applicant fails to provide requested information within the prescribed timeframe, and expanded the statutory definitions of providing immigration assistance and making immigration representations.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

… to apply for repeat registration as a registered migration agent (RMA) from 12 months to three years. This schedule will commence at the same time. We will provide comprehensive advice to the industry in the lead up to the commencement of these provisions. On 11 August, some other measures of the Acts Pa​ckage came into force, including: removing redundant provisions in Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958, which governs RMAs. allowing the OMARA to refuse an application for registration as an RMA if the applicant does not provide requested information, instead of leaving the application unfinalised indefinitely. This change will improve the administrative efficiency of the OMARA. expansion of the definitions of immigration assistance and makes immigration representations for the purposes of Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958. These definitions now include assisting a person to make a representation to the Minister in relation to the revocation of a visa refusal or cancellation decision on character grounds under section 501C or 501CA. These amendments will deter those not registered as RMAs from assisting another person in making such representations to the Minister, and penalties will …
mara.gov.auOffice of the Migration Agents Registration Authority Regulatory Update (14 August 2020)Open official source
Retrieved from https://mara.gov.au/notices-reports-subsite/Pages/news.aspx

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record fcp5-7de8f3dc404547afd2ac. Something wrong? Flag this record.

Other Australia changes operative in 2020