Overview

The Migration Agents Regulations 1998 were enacted to provide a framework for the regulation of migration agents in Australia, aiming to ensure that agents provide competent and ethical services. This legislative instrument, F2010L01495, was introduced to specify approved activities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for registered migration agents, addressing the need for updated and relevant CPD activities to maintain the professional standards of migration agents. Made under clause 3 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations, this instrument is published by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the 'Authority') and aims to update the list of approved CPD activities. The policy objective is to ensure that migration agents engage in activities that enhance their professional competence and ethical standards, thereby protecting the interests of clients and the integrity of the migration system. The instrument revokes a previous notice and introduces new activities, ensuring that agents can claim CPD points for activities undertaken prior to the notice's publication, without any disadvantage.

Scope and Application

The Migration Agents Regulations 1998, as amended by the Explanatory Statement F2010L01495, pertain to all registered migration agents operating within Australia. These regulations establish the approved activities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) required for registered migration agents to re-register under section 290A of the Migration Act 1958. The Authority specifies these activities through notices published on its website, with the latest notice updating the list of approved CPD activities, including attendance at seminars, workshops, conferences, or lectures. The revised notice revokes the previous listing and introduces new activities, ensuring that registered agents can claim CPD points for activities completed within 12 months prior to applying for repeat registration. The retrospective application of the notice is designed to avoid disadvantaging agents who may have completed CPD activities before the notice was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. This legislative instrument does not substantially alter existing CPD arrangements and does not require consultation under the circumstances described.

Key Provisions

The primary operative sections of the legislation are found in clauses 3 and 4 of Schedule 1 to the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 (the Regulations). Clause 3 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 (CPD) (section 3). These activities must be completed by all registered migration agents in order to re-register under section 290A of the Migration Act 1958 (section 290A). Clause 4 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations ensures that agents can still claim activities that have been withdrawn by this instrument, provided that they are undertaken before the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (section 4). The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on registered migration agents. These include the necessity to complete approved CPD activities that have a value of at least 10 points in order to re-register (section 290A). Additionally, agents must ensure that any CPD activities undertaken are in accordance with the activities specified in the notice published by the Authority on its website (section 3). The Act also requires that agents claim credit for any of the CPD activities listed in the notice, which they have completed within the 12 months prior to applying for repeat registration (section 4). The legislation does not explicitly detail specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach. However, failure to comply with the requirements for CPD activities could potentially lead to difficulties in re-registering as a migration agent under section 290A of the Migration Act 1958. The Act does not state any specific penalties for non-compliance, but non-compliance could have significant consequences for an agent’s ability to practice.