DIMA Annual Report 1997-98

Sub-program 3.4: Migration Agents and Assistance

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Objective
Description
Performance information
Financial and staffing resources summary
Performance outcomes

Objective

To assist the migration advice industry achieve improved standards of service and competency, and to enhance clients' access to migration advice.

Description

This sub-program provides support for the regulation of the migration advice industry and administers the program of Grants for Immigration Advice Agencies (GIAA). The sub-program is delivered by the Migration Agents and Assistance Section in the Onshore Protection and Review Branch.

Performance information

Outcomes are measured by the extent to which:

1. the regulatory processes for the migration advice industry are effectively supported; and
2. applicants in need have access to cost-effective advice.

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Financial and staffing resources summary

	1997–98 Budget & AE's $'000	1997–98 Actual $'000	1996–97 Actual $'000
Budgetary (cash) basis
Components of appropriations
Annual appropriations
Running costs	1 079	1 546	n/a
Other program costs	2 292	2 529	n/a
Total appropriations	3 371	4 075	n/a
Less adjustments	0	0	n/a
Total outlays	3 371	4 075	n/a
Total revenue	620	1 212	n/a
Staffing
Staff years (actual)	11	12	n/a

Due to program restructures in both 1996–97 and 1997–98, sub-program figures for 1996–97 actuals are not meaningful for comparative purposes to 1997–98 figures. They have therefore not been included in this table.

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Performance outcomes

(i) Regulation of the migration advice industry

The former Migration Agents Registration Scheme ('MARS') was extended by six months to 20 March 1998.

This was to allow for the passage of legislation to put in place statutory self-regulation for the migration advice industry, and to assist the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA), as the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the 'Authority'), to develop the infrastructure to take on the role of regulator of the migration advice industry.

During the period of operation of the MARS, from 21 September 1992 to 20 March 1998, a total of 4 771 applications for registration were received and, of these, 3 850 (80.5 per cent) were approved.

As at 20 March 1998, there were 2 693 registered migration agents, compared with 2 420 at 30 June 1997 and 2 060 at 30 June 1996.

The number of agents refused registration by the Migration Agents Registration Board (the 'Board') from 1 July 1997 to 20 March 1998 was 25.

A total of 1 332 complaints were received by the Board, since the MARS started in 1992 (see Table 3.4 (a)) and of these 896 were against registered migration agents.

During 1997–98, the Board cancelled the registration of three agents, suspended eight agents and issued eight official cautions.

Note: The figures provided in relation to the operation of the MARS, for the period to 20 March 1998, are final figures and supersede any information provided in the 1996–97 Annual Report.

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Table 3.4 (a): Complaints received by the MAR Board

1992–93	88
1993–94	282
1994–95	306
1995–96	284
1996–97	225
1997 – 20/3/98	147
Total	1 332

* includes complaints against registered and unregistered agents

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Table 3.4 (b): Disciplinary sanctions imposed by the MAR Board

	Caution	Suspension	Cancellation
1992–93	0	0	0
1993–94	0	0	1
1994–95	2	3	0
1995–96	6	4	3
1996–97	2	3	4
1997–98 (to 20/3/98)	8	8	3
Totals	18	18	11

As the new legislation provided for complaints received by the Board to be transferred to the Authority from 21 March 1998, the Board was concerned to leave only a small number of cases to be finalised by the Authority.

Of the 896 complaints made against registered agents over the life of the Board, 836 were finalised, with 60 passing to the Authority for finalisation. Of these, 53 per cent were less than three months old.

The Department and the MIA worked closely together on the development of legislative amendments for the new registration arrangements.

The Migration Legislation Amendment (Migration Agents) Act 1997 received Royal Assent on 17 December 1997, and came into force on 21 March 1998.

It provided for the establishment of the new Migration Agents Registration Authority and for the Minister to appoint the MIA as the Authority. On 23 March 1998, the Minister signed the Instrument appointing the MIA as the Authority.

The Minister also signed a Deed of Agreement between the Commonwealth and the MIA, setting out the basic terms and conditions under which the MIA will carry out its statutory functions as the Authority.

Both the Commonwealth and the MIA have formally committed to work together, in an open and cooperative way, towards the shared goal of achieving high quality and ethical migration advice, which protects consumers through the efficient and effective regulation of the migration advice industry.

To assist the MIA to develop the infrastructure to take on the role of industry regulator, a grant of $380 000 was provided to the MIA from the GIAA program.

The funding was used for a range of approved activities, including leasing of premises, purchasing furniture, equipment and supplies, recruitment of staff and payment of salaries.

In addition, the Department has provided a range of in-kind support to the MIA, including training, the transfer of data and records from the Board and the development of an electronic system for recording registrations and tracking complaints.

The new legislation strengthened consumer protection for those who are vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous or incompetent migration agents while, at the same time, removed the Government from the direct administration of regulation. The main features include:

• mandatory registration for all sectors of the industry: fee-charging agents, non-fee charging agents and lawyers;
• a strengthened Code of Conduct for migration agents;
• maintenance of all the pre-existing disciplinary sanctions and penalties against malpractice;
• extension of the definition of 'immigration assistance' to cover services provided to sponsors and nominators;
• new universal competency standards for initial registration; and
• a streamlined complaints process featuring a professional mediation service.

The Act also provides for new professional development standards to be introduced from January 1999. Agents who fail to meet these competency standards will be refused re-registration and will not be eligible to re-apply for a further 12 months.

The Deed of Agreement includes a provision for registration fee receipts collected by the Authority to be deposited into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

The fee receipts are then paid from the CRF to the Department, which arranges monthly payments to be made to the MIA to cover the costs of the Authority's activities.

The Agreement also requires the MIA to reimburse the Commonwealth for the provision of essential services to support the operation of the statutory requirements.

These services include, for example, assistance with the preparation of material to meet the MIA's reporting obligations to the Minister and the Parliament, and legal advice on matters referred by the Authority.

A report on the administration of the Authority for the period 21 March to 30 June 1998 is to be provided separately by the MIA to the Minister, for tabling in Parliament.

(ii) Administration of the GIAA

The major component of the GIAA is the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme (IAAAS), which was created in July 1997 from an amalgamation of the former Application Assistance Scheme and Immigration Advisory Services Scheme.

A total of $1.9 million was allocated to the IAAAS. Other components of the GIAA were a grant to the Refugee Council of Australia for core funding and a grant to the MIA to develop the infrastructure for the regulation of the migration advice industry.

An open, competitive tender process was conducted over the period July to September 1997 for the provision of:

• application assistance and advice services, to disadvantaged asylum seekers and other visa applicants; and
• training, to eligible community sector migration agents, to assist them to meet the new competency requirements for registration as a migration agent.

The tender evaluation process resulted in 15 contractors being selected to provide one or more IAAAS services.

Of these contractors, eight are not-for-profit organisations and seven are private sector businesses.

There is now a greater choice of providers to disadvantaged visa applicants compared with 12 providers under the previous separate schemes.

The geographic coverage of services has also been expanded to provide the full range of services in all mainland States.

However bids were not lodged for IAAAS services in Tasmania and the ACT, and in the Northern Territory assistance is limited to asylum seekers in detention.

The contractors were appointed to 30 June 1998, with the option to extend for a further 12 months, subject to their satisfactory performance against a range of qualitative, administrative and financial reporting criteria set out in the contracts.

Following a performance review, all contractors were offered an extension of their contracts for the financial year 1998–99.

To be eligible for application assistance, asylum seekers in the community must be experiencing financial hardship, or have suffered torture and trauma and have a case of merit.

Applicants who are eligible for immigration advice under the IAAAS are those people in the community who, due to financial hardship, and/or on account of non-English speaking background, cultural background, illiteracy, remote location, or physical or psychological disability (including as a result of past torture and trauma), are unable to access the services of a registered migration agent.

In 1997–98, there were 474 cases involving asylum seekers in detention referred to and accepted by IAAAS contractors, compared with 464 in 1996–97.

Sixty-eight asylum seekers in the community were provided with full application assistance (preparation of application through to final determination) compared to 122 in 1996–97.

The difference reflects in part the 30 per cent reduction, in 1997–98, in the number of applications from asylum seekers in the community compared with 1996–97 figures.

The scheme also provided application assistance to 10 non-asylum seekers in the community, and training was provided for 42 community sector migration agents.

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Table 3.4 (c): IAAAS contractors for 1997–98

State	Not-for-profit organisation	Private business
NSW	Legal Aid Commission NSW	AMI Migration Consultants
	Immigration Advice and Rights Centre Inc	Craddock Murray Neumann
		Partners in Law
		Peter Bollard & Associates (a)
Victoria	Refugee Advice and Casework	AMPI Pty Ltd
	Service (Australia) (b)
	Victorian Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (c)	Macpherson & Kelley
		Migration Institute of Australia/ Deakin University (d)
Queensland	South Brisbane Immigration and Community Legal Service
South Australia	Australian Refugee Association
Western Australia	Catholic Migrant Centre
	Legal Aid Commission WA (e)
(a) Provided only application assistance for asylum seekers in the community. (b) Also provided application assistance services in NSW. (c) Also provided training to eligible community sector migration agents in South Australia. (d) Provided only long-distance training for eligible sector migration agents Australia wide. (e) Also provided application assistance to asylum seekers in detention in the Northern Territory.

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