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Newsletter September 2011

In this issue:

Migrant Survey

We have now completed the third annual survey of visa applicants who used an immigration adviser and we are pleased with the results.

While satisfaction levels in this latest 2011 survey are largely unchanged from 2010, the results reinforce that licensing has indeed made a difference to the level of service provided.

The aim of the survey is to provide a measure of the performance of immigration advisers from the perspective of their clients to help evaluate the effects over time of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007.

The 2011 results show a consolidation and slight improvement on the significant gains made in the 2010 survey. Once again 75 percent of migrants reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their immigration adviser.

The perception that the service exceeded the migrant’s expectation is also unchanged from 2010, 69 percent compared to 68 percent a year ago.

Some of the improvements compared to last year’s survey came in adviser performance areas such as being respectful of my culture and being confident my personal information would be kept confidential.

There was also a rise in the number of migrants who would recommend their adviser to friends and family, up from 79 percent in 2010 to 82 percent in 2011.

As with any profession, there is always room for improvement.

Similar to 2010, around one in ten clients were dissatisfied with the service they received. Migrants were asked what their adviser could do to improve their level of service; they believed that their adviser needed to:

Overall, we are pleased with the results of the survey and it reflects the significant gains made by licensing the immigration advice industry over the last few years.

Visit our website for full details of the 2011 survey.

Change of Address

Last month we reminded advisers that it is important to let us know of any changes to contact details.

Under section 26 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act all advises are obligated to notify the Authority.

We would like to stress it is now a requirement that you complete and sign the change of details form. It can either be scanned and emailed to us or posted.

If you provide new contact details without completing the form, you will be asked to fill one out. The register can only be updated once we receive a fully completed change of details form.

Our Policy Manual

We have recently begun to develop a comprehensive Policy Manual that includes all of our existing policies.

The licensing part of the manual is now complete and available on our website.

As you are aware we have a number of policies that relate to the different aspects of licensing, such as how to renew or upgrade your licence.

The next chapter to be published will be on investigations and it is our aim to bring together all policies in one manual.

Most of the contents of the Policy Manual haven’t changed but the following requirements have been updated:

It will provide overviews on how to make a complaint about a licensed adviser or a person who may be in breach of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007.

Trademark

Our assessment team have noticed that some advisers are not using the Authority’s Trademark logo correctly.

The Trademark logo is attributable to you as the individual licensed adviser. This means your legal name not an Anglicised / preferred name must be clearly noted near the logo.

We understand that many advisers have a preferred name and we are happy for you to display it, but it must be in brackets below or next to your legal name.

Full guidelines on Trademark use

Immigration Adviser Ordered to Pay Compensation

There has a lot of media attention given to the recent decision made by the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal regarding the complaint made against Glen William Standing.

The Tribunal found that Standing negligently failed to provide adequate advice to his client; in particular he:

The Tribunal ordered Standing to pay compensation of $19,459, cancelled his licence for a minimum of two years and imposed a penalty of $2,000.

It is important to reiterate that the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act was introduced to establish high professional standards for immigration advisers and it is extremely important that these standards are protected. The Tribunal’s decision shows that it is serious about protecting migrants and stamping out unprofessional behaviour.

Meet our new Senior Communications Adviser

We would like to take the opportunity to welcome our new Senior Communications Adviser.

Maheesha Kottegoda started last week and will be responsible for writing this newsletter and keeping everyone informed about what’s happening at the Authority.

Contact her with your suggestions for the newsletter (see below).

Newsletter Feedback

We would like to thank all the advisers who provided feedback on the changes to last month’s newsletter format.

We received overwhelming positive feedback about the new layout.

If you have feedback over the layout or the content of the newsletter please do not hesitate in contacting us using our contact details.

 

28 August 2011 update

Licence holders - total
505
Full licence holders
398
Limited licence holders
26
Provisional licence holders
81
Adviser total onshore
344
Adviser total offshore
161
Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Act (TTMRA) licensed
99
Refusals to date
18
District Court appeals against refusals decided
3
Complaints to Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal
60

Contact us

Do you have a question for the Immigration Advisers Authority? Please feel free to contact us.

 

Licensed professionals = Protected migrants