Overview

The Migration Agents Regulations 1998 were enacted to regulate the activities of migration agents in Australia, ensuring they maintain a certain standard of professional competence and ethical practice. The explanatory statement outlines a subsequent legislative instrument, F2008L01681, which was made under clause 3 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations. This instrument aims to specify new approved activities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for registered migration agents, specifically involving attendance at seminars, workshops, conferences, or lectures. The instrument revokes the previous MARA Notice MN17-08c of 2008 and introduces a new set of activities, altering and updating the list to better reflect current professional standards and practices. The legislative instrument was introduced by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the 'Authority') and is of a minor or machinery nature, not substantially altering existing CPD arrangements but ensuring that migration agents can claim credit for CPD activities completed before the instrument's publication. The instrument is effective as of 1 April 1998, allowing agents to benefit from CPD activities undertaken within the previous 12 months before applying for re-registration.

Scope and Application

The Migration Agents Regulations 1998, as amended by this Notice, apply to registered migration agents who are required to undertake Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain their registration under the Migration Act 1958. This Notice specifically pertains to activities that confer points towards the CPD requirement, which must be completed for re-registration. The activities outlined in this Notice include attendance at seminars, workshops, conferences, and lectures, and are governed by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the 'Authority'). The scope of this Notice is limited to the Commonwealth jurisdiction, impacting migration agents who operate within Australia. The Notice revokes the previous MARA notice and introduces a new set of approved CPD activities, while also altering some existing activities. Notably, the Notice is retrospective, effective as of 1 April 1998, to allow agents to claim CPD credits for activities completed before the notice was published. However, clause 4 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations ensures that agents can still claim credits for activities withdrawn by this Notice if they are undertaken before the Notice is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. This ensures that the agents are not disadvantaged, and the Commonwealth remains unaffected by this retrospectivity.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998, as amended by this Notice, are found in Clause 3 of Schedule 1. This clause allows the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the 'Authority') to specify, by notice published on its website, approved activities for the purposes of Continuing Professional Development. Registered migration agents must complete approved activities that have a value of at least 10 points in order to re-register under section 290A of the Migration Act 1958 (section 1(2)). The Notice specifically details activities involving attendance at a seminar, workshop, conference, or lecture that are approved for Continuing Professional Development (section 2). The Notice revokes the previous notice entitled Migration Agents (Continuing Professional Development – Attendance at a Seminar, Workshop, Conference or Lecture) MARA Notice MN17-08c of 2008, signed on 22/04/2008, and specifies a new set of activities (section 4). This instrument is of a minor or machinery nature and does not substantially alter existing arrangements for Continuing Professional Development for registered migration agents; it simply confers points on new activities and revokes the previous listing of approved activities (section 5). The obligations and requirements imposed by the Act on the parties it governs are primarily concerned with ensuring that registered migration agents maintain their professional competence through Continuing Professional Development. Registered migration agents must complete approved activities that have a value of at least 10 points to re-register under section 290A of the Migration Act 1958. The Act requires the Authority to specify approved activities by notice on its website. This ensures that agents are kept informed of the activities that are recognised for Continuing Professional Development purposes. The Authority has the discretion to alter, revoke, or introduce new activities as necessary to maintain the quality and relevance of professional development opportunities for migration agents. The Notice outlines specific consequences for breach of the requirements set out in the Regulations. However, the explanatory statement does not detail specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach. It is understood that the Authority has the power to enforce compliance with the Regulations, and failure to meet the Continuing Professional Development requirements could result in the inability to re-register as a migration agent. The explanatory statement does, however, note that the retrospective nature of the Notice does not disadvantage migration agents and ensures that they can claim credit for any approved activities completed within the 12 months prior to applying for repeat registration (section 9). This ensures that agents are not disadvantaged if they complete any of these activities before the Notice is published. The retrospective nature of the Notice also ensures that the Commonwealth is neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by this provision (section 11).