CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT

Chief Executive Officer

There was strong growth in the number of people interested in joining the ranks of registered migration agents in 2013–14. For this reason, the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority has needed to continually review and update its practices to remain efficient.

The Authority farewelled Stephen Wood as CEO in early February 2014 and I stepped into the role to continue the work that Stephen was undertaking in his time here. I thank Helen Williams and the members of the advisory board for their guidance in my new role and the staff for their continued effort in a time of change.

One of the major projects that Stephen initiated was the update to the Authority’s website—its face to the world—and the processing systems that sit behind it. The Authority thanks agents and consumers for their perseverance during the changeover in late 2013. While the Authority is still making improvements, it has been encouraged by feedback from agents who find the new online registration system more convenient than the old paper-based process.

The Authority has been considering a greater use of risk tiering, which will provide increased focus on consumer protection activities and help to raise standards within the registered migration agent community. Risk tiering will reduce the monitoring and compliance burden on compliant agents and allow the Authority to direct more resources to activity that contravenes the code of conduct for migration agents set out in the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 and affects consumers. The Authority has been comparing the approaches used by other regulators both within Australia and overseas and will be engaging with practitioners and other stakeholders before full implementation.

In 2013–14 the Authority gathered data from monitoring and consumer complaints to provide feedback to agents on both best practice and areas where they might consider improvements. For example, the Authority sampled agent websites to assess levels of compliance with the code of conduct. The data that was gathered showed a high level of compliance with the code but suggested agents needed to be aware that some of their information and links were dated. This feedback was circulated to all agents and many indicated that they found it a useful exercise.

Outlook for 2014–15

The Government’s deregulation agenda will guide much of the Authority’s activity over the next year. The Authority’s focus will be on reducing the regulatory burden on registered migration agents while maintaining its charter on consumer protection. The review of the Authority announced on 24 June 2014 by the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, will provide important guidance in that area and set the future direction for regulatory activity around the migration advice profession. I look forward to working with practitioners, service providers and other key stakeholders in the year ahead.

Signature

Steve Ingram
Chief Executive Officer