EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Migration Act 1958
Migration Agents Regulations 1998
PRESCRIBED COURSES FOR APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRATION AS A MIGRATION AGENT
(REGULATION 5(1)(a))
- This Instrument is made under paragraph 5(1)(a) of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 (‘the Regulations’).
2. Paragraph 5(1)(a) of the Regulations provides that, for the purposes of paragraph 289A(c) of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act), a prescribed course is a course that the Minister has specified in an instrument in writing.
3. Section 289A of the Act relevantly provides that an applicant for registration as a migration agent who has never been registered, or who is applying to be registered more than 12 months after the end of his or her previous registration, must not be registered unless the Migration Agents Registration Authority is satisfied that he or she has completed a prescribed course within the prescribed period.
4. The purpose of this Instrument is to support the criteria in the Act and the Regulations that a prospective migration agent must satisfy in order to be registered.
5. The Instrument operates to specify courses that are prescribed courses, one of which an applicant must have completed with a prescribed period. The Instrument also revokes the previous Instrument “Prescribed Course Notice” that was signed on 11 May 2006 by an authorised officer for the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
6. The Instrument is likely to impact on persons wanting to become registered migration agents. If they have not completed a formal course of study or self-directed study in migration law and procedure before 15 July 2006, they must complete the Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice. This full-fee paying course is offered online and in person by The Australian National University, Griffith University, Murdoch University and Victoria University.
7. The purpose of replacing a formal course of study or self-directed study with the Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice was to provide intending migration agents with a higher level of knowledge that would better assist them in working in the migration advice profession.
8. The continued recognition of a formal course of study or self-directed study in migration law and procedure, completed before 15 July 2006, enables applicants who completed a formal course of study or self-directed study before 15 July 2006 to be considered for registration as migration agents.
9. Consultation was undertaken with the Migration Agent Registration Authority who regulates the migration advice profession and is responsible for registering migration agents.
10. The Instrument, IMMI 06/056, commences on 1 October 2006.
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