Recent Tribunal decisions - April 2026
The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal has recently released 9 sanction decisions in relation to 4 advisers.
The Tribunal made 9 decisions. 7 decisions were about similar actions by 1 adviser in relation to 7 clients. The Tribunal’s findings relating to this adviser are summarised in a separate article.
The findings from the other 2 decisions are summarised below.
XI v Shi & Sun [2026] NZIACDT 15
The Tribunal found that Ms Shi breached clauses 1, 2(e), 17(b), 18(b) and 20(a) of the Code of Conduct for the following conduct:
- Failure to meaningfully engage with the complainant and obtain his instructions (including a failure to provide him with the visa application to review before lodging), in breach of clauses 1 and 2(e).
- Failure to explain to the complainant her professional responsibilities, in breach of clauses 1 and 17(b).
- Failure to explain to the complainant significant matters in the services agreement, in breach of clauses 1 and 18(b).
- Failure to make sure the fees charged were fair and reasonable, in breach of cl 20(a).
The Tribunal found that Mr Sun breached clause 1 of the Code of Conduct. He did not supervise Ms Shi with due care and diligence. He should have made sure that the fee charged was reasonable.
Ms Shi was:
- censured
- ordered to complete Toi Ohomai’s LAWS7015 paper at its next intake, and
- ordered to pay $4,000 to the Registrar within one month of the decision.
Mr Sun was cautioned and ordered to pay $1,500 to the Registrar within one month of the decision.
ZQ v Zhuang [2026] NZIACDT 11
The Tribunal found that Ms Zhuang breached clauses 17(b), 18(b) and 28(c) of the Code of Conduct for the following conduct
- Failure to explain to the complainant her professional responsibilities and advise her how to access a copy of the Code, in breach of cl 17(b).
- Failure to explain the contents of the written agreement to the complainant, in breach of cl 18(b).
- Failure to advise the complainant where to find assistance following termination of the written agreement, in breach of cl 28(c).
Ms Zhuang was cautioned and ordered to pay $500 to the Registrar within 1 month of the decision.
New decisions are appearing regularly, and we encourage you to save the following link as a bookmark.
Tribunal decisions(external link) — Ministry of Justice