Registration Requirements
Practitioners in Australia are required to be either solicitors or have passed examinations in Immigration Law. They must be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents’ Registration Authority which, since July 2009, is administered through a discrete office attached to the Department of Immigration & Citizenship. Registered agents are subject to a strict Code of Conduct. It is helpful for consumers to know that the first two digits of the registration numbers accorded to agents in Australia reflect the year in which he/she was first registered.
In addition to meeting basic entry requirements, practitioners must constantly update their knowledge through attendance at a prescribed number of courses each year. Completion of these courses is a mandatory part of annual re-registration with the MARA.
Practitioners must also hold Professional Indemnity Insurance.
It needs to be understood that these requirements relate only to Agents practising within Australia. Because of legal jurisdictional limitations, Agents practising outside Australia are unregulated with no education or continuing education obligations.
It is therefore very important when considering engaging the services of a Migration Agent to be satisfied as to their level of competence, irrespective of whether the Agent is in Australia or offshore. Some issues to consider are their years of experience, areas of specialisation, whether you can develop a rapport with the Agent, whether multiple language skills are offered (if required) and their charges.
