Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

The Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Bill 2018is an omnibus package of amendments to the Migration Act 1958, targeted at deregulating the migration advice industry.

The Bill contains six measures, which I will discuss in greater detail.

Schedule 1 to the Bill will give effect to Recommendation 1 of the 2014 Independent Review of the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the OMARA Review).

This recommendation has long been supported by the Government and reaffirms our commitment to deregulation and to removing unnecessary red tape across industry sectors.

The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Bill will see lawyers who hold unrestricted practising certificates removed from regulation by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the MARA), so that they are regulated entirely by their relevant State or Territory legal professional body.

In response to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee's recommendation, lawyers who hold a restricted practising certificate will have a two-year transitional period in which they may be both registered migration agents and restricted legal practitioners. This transitional period will apply to registered migration agents who hold a restricted practising certificate immediately before commencement of these amendments, as well as eligible restricted legal practitioners who obtain a restricted practising certificate or are registered as a migration agent with the MARA after commencement.

During this two-year period, affected restricted legal practitioners may take necessary steps to organise and adapt their business affairs or obtain an unrestricted legal practising certificate. This would allow them to continue to provide immigration advice as an independent legal practitioner after the transitional period ends.

This transitional period may be extended once, on application to the MARA, with reasonable cause, and for no longer than a further two years. In summary, the transitional period is up to four years, with no further extensions allowed.

Once this transitional period has ended, these lawyers will also be removed from regulation by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (the MARA), so that they are regulated entirely by their relevant State or Territory legal professional body.

The Government recognises that the dual regulation of lawyers with practising certificates can pose an unnecessary administrative burden on such lawyer agents, who are already subject to a strict professional regulatory regime.

The Government further recognises that deregulation of the migration advice industry should not be prioritised over the maintenance of important consumer protections. Mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that vulnerable consumers will continue to be protected from receiving incompetent migration advice, particularly from unscrupulous individuals holding themselves out to be experts.

Lawyers with practising certificates intending to practice in the migration advice field will be able to access educational offerings to increase their knowledge, as they already do with other complex aspects of the legal profession.

The relevant State and Territory legal professional bodies and statutory schemes underpinning them have a broader range of powers to resolve consumer-related issues than the scheme governing migration agents. This includes penalties outside of the MARA's jurisdiction, including financial penalties for improper conduct, and recommending compensation for affected clients.

The legislative changes put forward by Schedule 2 will ensure that the period that an individual has to apply for repeat registration as a migration agent, following their completion of the required qualifications, is set out in delegated legislation rather than on the face of the Act.

These changes will complement the introduction of a Graduate Diploma in Migration Law and Practice to replace the current Graduate Certificate. Once an individual possesses this qualification, it will never lapse, as is the case with most other tertiary qualifications. A Capstone Exam will be developed, that an individual must sit and pass within a certain period, in order to be accepted into the profession.

This group of changes will significantly enhance the current educational requirements and will continue to improve the level of professionalism within the industry.

The third Schedule to the Bill is aimed at amending or repealing various redundant provisions of the Migration Act.

This will reflect the consolidation of the OMARA into the Department of Home Affairs, and that the OMARA powers can only be exercised by the Minister or a delegate. To this effect, this Schedule will repeal:

Schedule 3 of the Bill also removes redundant references to the Migration Institute of Australia, which is no longer appointed as the MARA and will not be appointed in the future.

Schedule 4 seeks to close an existing loophole that prevents the OMARA from refusing an application for registration as a migration agent, where the applicant does not respond to requests for further information. Presently, this means such incomplete applications remain unfinalised for an indefinite period.

Schedule 5 to the Bill will amend the Migration Act to require a migration agent, who has been registered on a non-commercial basis, to notify the OMARA if there is a change in circumstances that has led to their providing immigration assistance on a commercial basis. This complements amendments made by the Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Amendment (Rates of Charge) Bill 2017, and amendments that are proposed to be made to the Regulations under the Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Act 1997. Those amendments make the higher, commercial charge the default charge, and require a migration agent to pay an adjusted charge if they paid the non-commercial charge but then give immigration assistance for fee or reward.

Schedule 6 to the Bill amends the definitions of 'immigration assistance' and 'immigration representations' so that they include assisting a person to make a representation to the Minister in relation to revocation of a visa refusal or cancellation decision under section 501C or 501CA of the Migration Act. This reflects the intention that a person must be a registered migration agent, or be exempt for the requirements under the law to be a registered migration agent, in order to give such assistance.

In conclusion, this Bill makes a number of important amendments that will streamline the operation of the migration advice industry.

I commend the Bill to the Chamber.

Debate adjourned.