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Newsletter October 2009

In this newsletter:

Code of conduct workshop

The purpose of immigration adviser licensing is to protect migrants and enhance the reputation of New Zealand as a migration destination. The Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2008 enables advisers to act ethically by setting out rules for professional conduct.

How well do you understand the code of conduct? We are running one-day workshops on the code of conduct next month. These free workshops will examine in depth the application of the code’s statutory obligations.

The workshop is divided into five modules: professionalism, working with clients, practice management, duties to stakeholders, and continuing professional development. In each module, we will use examples that reflect issues that you encounter in your general practice.

This is an important opportunity for advisers, and we recommend every licensed adviser attends a workshop. This will help you determine whether your business is compliant with the code and the Authority’s policies before you renew your licence.

Find out about the workshop nearest you on our website.

Offshore licensing

Anyone who is providing immigration advice about New Zealand immigration matters and who is based offshore must be licensed by 4 May 2010 at the latest, unless exempt.

From 4 May 2010, Immigration New Zealand will refuse to accept applications lodged by applicants using an unlicensed immigration adviser. Advisers who are waiting for a licensing decision from the Registrar are considered by Immigration New Zealand as unlicensed.

We have posted a guide to the application process on our website for offshore advisers who wish to apply for a New Zealand immigration adviser licence. This audio visual presentation provides a simple step-by-step guide to completing an application.

Because of our workload, we have told offshore advisers that we cannot guarantee they will receive their licence by 4 May 2010 unless they file their application with us by 2 December 2009.

Wanted: provisional licence supervisors

The past month has seen a rise in the number of applications for provisional licences. This is encouraging, as the future success of the immigration adviser industry relies on attracting new entrants to the profession, but we are aware that there is the potential for many more provisional licence holders than we currently have.

One of the crucial factors in upgrading provisional licence holders to a full or limited licence is the quality of the supervision they receive. Anybody with a full licence can become a supervisor.

There are a number of benefits to licensed advisers considering becoming a supervisor. To begin with, you can include the time you spend supervising provisional licence holders in your calculation of hours spent on CPD when you renew your licence.

Many supervisors will be business owners who have encouraged their staff to become licensed to increase their business opportunities, but there are also opportunities to supervise provisional licence holders who are not associated with your company.

We are aware of a number of different financial arrangements that new entrants to the industry have agreed on with fully licensed advisers. These can provide you with additional sources of revenue and potential associations with other companies and other regions in the future.

Guidelines on managing client funds

The Authority has published guidelines for licensed immigration advisers on the code of conduct’s requirements for managing client funds and maintaining transactions records for all clients.

The guidelines focus on a licensed adviser’s obligations to:

All licensed advisers must have a clearly identifiable bank account established solely for the purpose of holding client funds paid in advance. Advisers who do not receive fees or disbursements in advance do not need a separate client account.

Licensed immigration advisers must be very clear in their contract what the fee relates to. All fees or disbursements paid in advance must be held in the separate client account.

Licensed advisers must maintain complete client records that track all transactions for a period of seven years. This is not limited to the client account and means that licensed immigration advisers must have a system for tracking the payments made by a client, where the money is deposited, when it is transferred to any other account, Immigration New Zealand or any other party, and for what reason.

All licensed advisers, onshore and offshore, must adhere to the code of conduct. Licensing assessors have identified client account management as an issue in assessing renewal applications. We recommend you read these guidelines to help you understand your responsibilities better.

The guidelines have been developed in consultation with the Licensed Immigration Advisers Reference Group.

Renewals

We have been receiving a number of requests from advisers about the renewal process, as many people are coming to the end of their first year of licensing. Two months before your licence expires, the Authority will send you an email reminding you to begin your renewal application. Please don’t send us your renewal application until you receive this email. However, we strongly recommend you submit your application as soon as possible after you receive the email.

As part of our renewal assessment, we ask you to submit a client file. You should choose a file that you consider shows a high standard of work – one that demonstrates your competence and reflects your standard business practices and processes.

There is more information on the renewal process on our website.

Migrant survey

The Authority recently commissioned research into migrant satisfaction with the service they received from an adviser. Specifically, we looked at the differences between licensed and unlicensed advisers, in order to provide a benchmark measure of the performance of immigration advisers from the perspective of their clients. We expect that future research will help measure the effects over time of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act.

Applicants were asked to rate their adviser on six categories. In each category licensed adviser satisfaction was statistically significantly higher when compared to unlicensed adviser satisfaction.

We are very encouraged with the results of this survey, which show a marked difference in the level of satisfaction between migrants who consulted a licensed adviser, and those who consulted an unlicensed adviser.

Nearly three quarters (72 percent) were happy with their licensed adviser, compared with 57 percent satisfaction with their unlicensed adviser. This result is encouraging: it shows that there is a correlation between the high professional standards we expect of licensed advisers and the level of satisfaction that their clients receive.

The good news for migrants is that the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act seems to be having a positive impact already.

Visa and permit applicants who had received advice from an immigration adviser in the eight months prior to 4 May 2009 were invited to participate in the survey. A total of 1,137 applicants completed the survey.

An executive summary of the survey has been posted on our website.

Immigration New Zealand seminar feedback

We were encouraged by the response to the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) operational policy seminars we promoted in August. The seminars covered July 2009 policy changes and were open to licensed immigration advisers and the exempt sector.

In feedback we received from attendees, the opportunity to ask questions in the seminars was consistently rated as the most useful aspect by licensed advisers, lawyers and other exempts. Meeting INZ staff and other industry members was also rated highly. Licensed advisers were most interested in the investor policy.

We now know that you would like to cover more detail in future seminars, using working examples of issues you’re likely to face. CPD is important for adviser licensing and it’s our goal to ensure that the seminars we are involved in add value to your business. Your contributions help us ensure future seminar planning is timely, relevant and useful.

In the news

The Authority has featured in the news recently. Most of the stories have involved unlicensed advisers who are unhappy about receiving forewarning letters from us, pointing out that their activities appear to be in breach of the law, and asking that they either apply for an adviser licence, or change their behaviour.

We’re not surprised that there has been some noise from unlicensed advisers and well-meaning but ill-informed commentators. Because the legislation is new, we can expect more media interest in our activities.

We welcome the opportunity to educate the media and immigration commentators on the need to protect migrants from poor performers in the profession, but we know that the most powerful voices in this debate are licensed advisers themselves. You may be asked to comment in the media or you may choose to write letters to the editor in response to a story – either way, we appreciate your support for immigration adviser licensing.

Numbers update

As at 25 September 2009, there were:

Contact us

As always, please feel free to contact us:

Email us at info@iaa.govt.nz
Freephone 0508 IAA IAA (0508 422 422 – New Zealand only)
Write to PO Box 6222, Auckland 1141, New Zealand
Visit www.iaa.govt.nz

Barry Smedts
Registrar of Immigration Advisers

Licensed professionals = Protected migrants