Sanders and Migration Agents Registration Authority

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision by the Migration Agents Registration Authority to impose conditions on the registration of Mr Sanders, a registered migration agent. The dispute arose from a complaint concerning the immigration assistance provided by Mr Sanders' company, Troy Migration Pty Ltd, to a visa applicant, Mr Singh, and a prospective employer, Byrne Hotels Qld Pty Ltd (trading as Club Hotel Chinchilla). The Authority was concerned that documents submitted in support of a visa nomination application appeared to be fraudulent, as they were not provided by the director of Byrne Hotels or on his instructions.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Sanders was a person of integrity and a fit and proper person to provide immigration assistance, given his conduct in relation to the visa and nomination applications. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether Mr Sanders had breached the Code of Conduct for migration agents, even in the absence of dishonesty, by failing to properly verify the authority of an employment agency purporting to act on behalf of Byrne Hotels and by failing to ascertain instructions directly from the director of Byrne Hotels.

The Tribunal found that Mr Sanders, through his company Troy Migration, had made assumptions regarding the authority of an employment agency, Global Skills and Business Services, to act on behalf of Byrne Hotels. Mr Sanders admitted that neither he nor his employee had completed the necessary checks to ensure the agency's authority and that he should have taken positive steps to verify this or contact Byrne Hotels directly. He accepted that his conduct fell short of the required standard, acknowledging a duty to test the veracity of instructions. However, the Tribunal noted there was no suggestion that Mr Sanders personally acted dishonestly.

The Tribunal concluded that while Mr Sanders' conduct did not involve dishonesty, his failure to undertake proper due diligence and verify instructions constituted breaches of the Code of Conduct. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Migration Agents Registration Authority to impose conditions on Mr Sanders' registration.