Supervision and professional and ethical business practices May 2026 webinar recap
Our May 2026 webinar explained how to meet Competency Standards 6.1, 6.6, and 6.8. It focused on supervision and professional business practice for immigration advisers. These standards are not just legal requirements. They help you protect clients, build trust in your service, and support a strong immigration advice profession.
Professional business practices
Advisers are expected to work professionally, ethically, and with accountability in all aspects of their practice. This includes:
- acting with honesty, integrity, diligence, and respect in line with Clause 1 of the Code
- building relationships of trust and confidence while providing objective advice and following client instructions (Clause 2)
- making sure advice is accurate, complete, and reviewed — including confirming application details with clients before submission
- maintaining clear and documented communication with clients.
Recent tribunal decisions show common risks in immigration advice work. These include:
- submitting incomplete applications
- giving misleading advice
- not engaging enough with clients.
These cases show that failing to meet basic obligations can lead to serious consequences, such as licence cancellation and financial penalties.
Supervision
Supervision helps make sure advice is accurate and supports advisers to build the skills they need. Supervision should be active, structured, and ongoing — not a passive or ‘tick-box’ exercise.
Some key expectations:
- Provisional licence holders must work under direct supervision at all times and must not provide advice without an approved supervision agreement.
- Supervisors need to stay involved in the work. They must review it and make sure the advice is accurate, follows the rules, and is ethical.
- Regular meetings, documented records, and clear communication are essential components of good supervision.
- Supervision agreements must clearly define roles, responsibilities, and processes. The Registrar must approve the agreement.
Common risks include:
- giving advice without proper supervision
- poor record-keeping
- not staying actively involved in the work, and
- taking on more supervisees than you can support well.
What you need to know
Professional practice and supervision work together to make sure advisors give consistent, high-quality immigration advice. When done well, they protect clients, support adviser development, and uphold confidence in the profession.
Advisers are encouraged to regularly review their practices and make sure they comply with the Code. They should take a proactive approach to ethical and supervised practice.
Key questions and answers from the webinar
Question 1: In situations that involve a third-party agent from overseas, the client receives the initial service without meeting the LIA, is this a breach of code of conduct?
Answer: The Code requires LIAs to obtain and carry out the client's informed lawful instructions [2(e)] and to act in accordance with New Zealand law [3(c)]. Together these mean that an LIA must ensure that no unlicensed person carries out immigration advice work.
Generally, there is an expectation that an LIA will be involved in the client case from start to finish. If any part of an "initial service" involves immigration advice (for example, an initial consultation), this must be performed by an LIA.
Here is a recent Tribunal case for your reference:
Decision No: [2026] NZIACDT 03 [PDF 370KB](external link)
For more examples, you can search the IACDT database for "rubber stamping".
Question 2: What about a VIP that delegates a personal assistant to deal with the LIA for all Immigration documents, would direct contact be needed?
Answer: The Code requires LIAs to obtain and carry out the informed lawful instructions of the client. In the situation you presented, it may be advisable to obtain initial instructions about the immigration matter and relevant circumstances from the client. Such instructions could include written consent to continue communication with a third party.
Even if such consent is obtained, it may be prudent to communicate directly with the client on occasion and to keep them copied into relevant communications.
Question 3: If a supervisor has some issues with the supervisee, for example not complying with the agreement or the Code, can we complain directly to IAA?
Answer: If you have issues with a supervisee, the first step would be to try to address these issues directly with the supervisee. If the issue cannot be resolved, you may consider terminating the supervision arrangement. If the issue involves the provision of immigration advice to a client, you may submit a complaint to us.