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APPENDICES
Appendix 1: External scrutiny
During 2009–10, there were no judicial decisions or decisions of administrative tribunals with a significant impact on the operations of the Office of the MARA.
There were no reports on the operations of the Office of the MARA by the Auditor–General, any Parliamentary committee or the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Appendix 2: Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) provides a general right of access to information held by Australian Government agencies (departments and authorities).
Information can be requested under the Privacy Act 1988 and the FOI Act. Details about how to make a request appear on the Office of the MARA website at www.mara.gov.au
Key public documents of the Office of the MARA are available free of charge on the website.
FOI requests for Office of the MARA documents are processed by DIAC in Melbourne and Sydney.
Generally, DIAC prefers to provide access to documents in the form of copies. These are available in either paper or electronic form. Private viewing of personal files may be done by appointment at state and regional offices.
People who live in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory or Tasmania can send their requests to:
Parliamentary and Public Access
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
GPO Box 241
Melbourne VIC 3001
People who live in New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory or overseas can send their requests to:
Privacy and Freedom of Information Section
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
GPO Box 9984
Sydney NSW 2001
Appendix 3: Managing people
Staffing levels
Staffing levels of the Office of the MARA were commensurate with the workload including progressing the large reform agenda based on recommendations from the review.
As at 30 June 2010, the Office of the MARA had 38 positions – 33 permanent positions (two vacant) plus an additional temporary position to assist with the communications strategy. In addition there were four part time contracted staff.
The breakdown of sections is as follows:
Section |
Female |
Male |
Vacant |
Total |
Registration and Client Services |
7 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
Professional Standards and Integrity |
7 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
Professional Development |
3 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
Strategy and Business |
6 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
Contractors |
1 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
Total |
24 |
10 |
2 |
36 |
Senior executive
The break-down of senior executives is as follows:
|
Female |
Male |
Vacant Positions |
Total |
Senior Executive Service Officers |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
Diversified workforce
The Office of the MARA has a diversified staff of employees from various cultural and vocational backgrounds, and English and non-English speaking countries.
The Office of the MARA manages diversity in the workplace in accordance with DIAC’s Workplace Diversity Plan 2008–10. This aims to increase representation in DIAC’s workforce of people with disabilities, mature aged workers, Indigenous Australians and people who will contribute to its cultural and linguistic diversity.
Anti-harassment policy
The Office of the MARA complies with DIAC’s policies to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace. As at 30 June 2010, two Harassment Contact Officers, who have been trained in the appropriate policies and procedures, were available to support and assist staff.
Occupational Health and Safety
The Office of the MARA is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for staff, contractors and visitors. The Office of the MARA manages health and safety in accordance with DIAC’s Health and Safety Management arrangements. Health and Safety representatives are appointed as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991.
Matters regarding insurance premiums and workplace injuries are covered in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Annual Report 2009–10.
Appendix 4: Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance
The Office of the MARA complies with DIAC’s National Environmental Policy, which recognises that all activities, products and services within its defined scope can cause an impact on the environment.
Appendix 5: Purchasing
The purchasing policies of the Office of the MARA comply with core purchasing policies and principles as articulated in the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.
The internal processes of the Office of the MARA are based on these guidelines and comply with the practices of DIAC.
Appendix 6: Advertising and market research
Contract prices listed in Table 13 are not additional to the prices of the contracts for consultancy services listed in the Table 14 of Appendix 7.
Consultant name |
Description |
Contract |
Selection |
Justification |
Multicultural Marketing |
Focus group |
$31 460 |
Select Tender |
B |
Australian Survey |
Client impact survey |
$20 000 |
Select Tender |
C |
1 The focus group research was completed as part of a larger contract awarded to CPR Communications & Public Relations Pty Ltd, listed in Table 14.
Justification key:
A – skills unavailable within the Office | B – need for specialised or professional skills | C – need for independent research or assessment
Appendix 7: Consultancy services to the value of $10 000 or more
Consultant name |
Description |
Contract |
Selection |
Justification |
Australian Survey Research Group Pty Ltd |
Develop, conduct and analyse impact survey relating to English language requirements for agents |
$20 000 |
Select Tender |
C |
CPR Communications & Public Relations Pty Ltd LtdCommunications & Public Relations Pty Ltd |
Development of a communications strategy for Office of the MARA |
$66 294 |
Select Tender |
B |
Deakin University trading as DeakinPrime |
Review of the continuing professional development framework for registered migration agents |
$63 937 |
Select Tender |
B, C |
KPMG Australia |
Management initiated review of migration agent registration application processes |
$26 470 |
Open Tender |
C |
Professional Service Integrity Asia Pacific Pty Ltd |
Review of probity arrangements of the Office of the MARA |
$70 560 |
Direct Sourcing |
C |
Protiviti Pty Ltd |
Management initiated review of governance processes of the Office of the MARA |
$11 625 |
Open Tender |
C |
The Allen Consulting Group Pty Ltd |
Review of the educational requirements for admission to the migration agent profession |
$77 996 |
Select Tender |
B, C |
A – skills unavailable within the Office | B – need for specialised or professional skills | C – need for independent research or assessment
or more
Appendix 8: Flowchart of Office of the MARA complaint handling process
handling process
Appendix 9: Office of the MARA advisory board terms of reference
1. Functions
The Office of the MARA advisory board provides advice to the Office of the MARA’s CEO in relation to:
- Office of the MARA procedures, policies and strategies
- setting of organisational directions, priorities and plans
- any emerging issues within the sector of relevance to the regulation of migration agents.
The Office of the MARA advisory board can also provide advice on broad policy issues relating to the migration advice profession as appropriate, including for example, consumer protection issues.
2. Powers
The Office of the MARA advisory board operates in an advisory capacity to the Office of the MARA and has no legal status or decision making capacity in relation to the functions of the Office of the MARA.
3. Membership
The Chair of the Office of the MARA advisory board will be independent of the profession and DIAC and is appointed by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. The Chair will be supported by a Deputy Chair.
Membership of the Office of the MARA advisory board includes but is not limited to: a consumer representative, a community representative, a nominee from the Law Council of Australia and a nominee from the MIA. Members are appointed by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Membership extends only to individuals, and proxies are not permitted to attend in the place of members.
The CEO of the Office of the MARA and a representative of DIAC will also be members of the advisory board.
4. Appointment terms
The Chair and members will be appointed for a period of two years, with an option for extension at the discretion of the minister.
5. Meetings
Meetings will be held at least quarterly, and organised by the secretariat. In the event less than 70 per cent of the members are able to attend, the meeting will be rescheduled.
6. Roles and responsibilities
6.1. The Chair
The Chair:
- may invite other people to attend meetings as necessary
- may hold special meetings as required
- will report to the minister on outcomes of the advisory board, with the first report in December 2009, and annually at the end of each program year
- will determine the agenda for each meeting in consultation with members prior to each advisory board meeting.
The Chair will ensure:
- the views of the advisory board are sought on relevant issues
- advisory board members are provided with relevant and timely information upon which to provide advice
- promotion of full participation by all members
- constructive questioning and strategic thinking
- appropriate management of conflicts of interest
- consideration of relevant strategic risks.
6.2. Members
Members are responsible for:
- ensuring appropriate confidentiality of papers and meeting discussions
- exercising due diligence and a good faith commitment to acting in the best interests of the regulatory function at all times
- declaring any real or potential conflicts of interest to the Chair prior to any discussion of the matter.
6.3. Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the MARA
The CEO of the Office of the MARA will provide relevant and timely information on the implementation of any key strategies, statistics relating to the operations of the Office of the MARA, work in key areas such as CPD, outcomes of decisions reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and any significant current issues.
6.4. Department of Immigration and Citizenship representative
DIAC’s representative will provide relevant and timely information on departmental activities of relevance to the Office of the MARA’s regulatory functions, such as recent legislative or policy changes impacting on the Office of the MARA.
Office of the MARA advisory board members’ biographies
Mr Robert Cornall AO, Chair
Mr Robert Cornall AO has extensive experience at a high level in public administration and is a former Secretary of the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, a position he held from 2000 to 2008. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, he was the Managing Director of Victoria Legal Aid from 1995 to 2000 and Executive Director and Secretary of the Law Institute of Victoria from 1987 to 1995.
Mr Cornall AO was a partner at Middletons Oswald Burt Solicitors (now Middletons) from 1972 until 1987 and was a solicitor at the same firm from 1969 until 1972.
Mr Cornall AO was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006 for service to the community through contributions to the development of public policy and through providing advice and governance across a diverse range of responsibilities within the civil justice system.
Ms Jenni Mack, Deputy Chair and Consumer Advocate
Ms Jenni Mack is a long time consumer advocate and has special expertise in consumer compensation schemes and good governance. Ms Mack chairs the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s Consumer Advisory Panel and is a Director of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Travel Compensation Fund and CHOICE Switch (CHOICE’s energy switching service). Ms Mack previously advised the Migration Agents Registration Authority (when administered by the MIA) on professional conduct complaints. Ms Mack also sits on the advisory board of the national agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines regulator.
Ms Mack was the Deputy Legal Ombudsman in NSW in the mid-1990s and was a member of the NSW Judicial Commission for five years. She is a former Executive Director of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, as well as a journalist and political adviser. Ms Mack holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in Administrative Law and Policy.
Mr Glenn Ferguson, Law Council of Australia
Mr Glenn Ferguson is the President of the Law Council of Australia and represented the Law Council on the External Reference Group to the 2007–08 Review of Statutory Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Profession. He is also on the Australian Government Attorney-General’s International Pro Bono Advisory Council, a Founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and a past President of the Queensland Law Society.
He is a former President of the Immigration Lawyers’ Association of Australasia and past President of LAWASIA. He is also an active member of a number of legal bodies, including the Queensland College of Law, the Queensland Law Foundation, the Australian Government Attorney-General’s International Legal Services Advisory Council and the International Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Mr Stirling Henry, Migration Institute of Australia
Mr Stirling Henry started his professional career as a high school teacher in Papua New Guinea. After extensive experience in educational administration and planning, and obtaining a Masters degree in Management from the London School of Economics, he took up a senior executive appointment as Assistant Secretary with the Australian Department of Immigration in Canberra (1981–86). During this time he served as secretary to the Committee of Review of Private Overseas Student Policy (Goldring Committee).
After leaving the government, Mr Henry was Price Waterhouse’s Senior Migration Consultant with responsibility for running the Migration Consultancy Division (1986–90). He helped to establish the Australian Migration Consultants Association which was later succeeded by the MIA. Mr Henry was the inaugural National President of the MIA.
In addition to his Master of Management degree, Mr Henry also holds a Diploma of Education and Bachelor degrees in Arts and Economics and Education. He also has post Graduate Diplomas in Law and Legal Practice.
Mr Andrew Holloway, Universities
Mr Andrew Holloway is the Vice-President (International) at Victoria University, providing policy advice to the Vice-Chancellor and responsible for strategic planning and co-ordination of the university’s operations. He has held the position of International Director at four universities in Australia: Murdoch University, the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University and the Australian National University, and more recently held the post of International Director at the University of Auckland.
He chaired the New Zealand Committee of International Directors and was appointed as a member of the Internationalisation Advisory Group to the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Wellington (2006–07). He established the Universitas 21 International Operations Group, involving collaborative activities among international offices in the network, including Australia, Europe, North America and Asia.
Mr Holloway holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in South Asian History and a Master of Business Administration. Industry awards received include the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise/DHL New Zealand Exporter of the Year (Education Services) in 2007 and the Education New Zealand Award for Internationalisation (2007).
Ms Sonia Caton, Not-for-profit immigration assistance sector
Ms Sonia Caton has worked as a volunteer with the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service since 1991. She is the immediate past Director and Principal Solicitor of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service and continues as a volunteer.
She is a registered migration agent and serves on a number of boards including International Education Services Limited as Chair of the corporate governance sub-committee and the complaints committee, the Refugee Council of Australia (the law and policy sub-committee) and the Education and Training Reference Committee of the MIA.
Ms Caton is also a former member of the Professional Standards Committee for the MARA (2004–06). Ms Caton also spent 11 years as a member of the Commonwealth Review Tribunals (formerly known as the Immigration Review Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal).
Mr Jim McKiernan, Community Advocate
Mr Jim McKiernan was born in Ireland and migrated to Australia in 1969 where he worked as a machinist/fitter and turner until 1976 when he was appointed to the position of Education Officer with the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union.
Mr McKiernan was elected Senator for Western Australia in December 1984, a position he held at subsequent elections until his retirement in 2002. While he was a senator, Mr McKiernan was Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the Joint Committee on Publications, the Joint Select Committee on the Family Law Act and the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional References Committee.
Since his retirement from the Senate, Mr McKiernan has served as a Sessional Member of the WA State Administrative Tribunal and the Equal Opportunity Commission, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Disability Services Commission, Chair of the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee and as a member of the WA Carers Advisory Council.
Mr McKiernan is a Justice of the Peace.
Ms Christine Sykes, Chief Executive Officer
Ms Christine Sykes has had considerable experience in providing service to the public, in community organisations, local government and the Commonwealth. This has included 12 years in DIAC, including as a State Director in Queensland and a Regional Director of the North Asia Region.
Prior to working in DIAC, Ms Sykes was a senior officer in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where she provided high level policy advice on a range of social policy matters including social justice, status of women, multicultural affairs and Commonwealth-State relations.
Ms Sykes holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in Legal Studies (Public Administration).
Ms Elizabeth Hoffmann, Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Ms Elizabeth Hoffmann has been in DIAC since 1984, and has experience working in policy, program delivery and client service areas in state and territory offices (Sydney, Parramatta, Newcastle and Perth among others), overseas posts (Bonn, Manila and Auckland) and national office.
In her current role as Assistant Secretary, Visa Deregulation and Support Branch, Ms Hoffmann is responsible for the visa deregulation and simplification project, policy advice relating to the regulations of the migration advice industry, liaison between Migration and Visa Policy Division policy sections, systems and client services areas, and policy relating to some bridging visa subclasses.
Appendix 10: Findings of 2007–08 Review of Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Profession
The review was carried out by an external reference group under the guidance of the Hon. John Hodges, a former Federal Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs who had previously worked as a registered migration agent.
The reference group assisted the government to assess the effectiveness of the regulatory scheme, the state of the profession, and if it was ready to move from statutory self-regulation to self-regulation. However the review found that statutory self-regulation of the migration advice profession led to dissatisfaction among consumers and potential conflicts of interest.
The key findings were:
- There was overwhelming opposition to the profession moving to self-regulation.
- The arrangement whereby the MIA operated the MARA created perceived and potential conflicts of interest resulting in a lack of consumer confidence, and the government should consider establishing a regulatory body separate from the MIA.
- There was dissatisfaction amongst stakeholders regarding the handling of complaints against migration agents. The review found that the regulatory body needed additional powers and needed to work in closer co-operation with DIAC and other bodies such as the Law Council of Australia and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in order to address these issues.
- There needed to be significant changes made to the entry requirements in order to improve professional standards. Recommended changes included the Graduate Certificate being replaced by a Graduate Diploma, the English language requirements being increased and newly qualified migration agents being required to undertake a year of supervised practice.
- Legislation relating to migration agents needed to be substantially revised to remove confusion.
- To minimise consumer confusion, lawyer agents should continue to be included in the regulatory scheme, although revisions to the regulatory scheme would provide further concessions to lawyer agents.
- The CPD requirements needed to be simplified and streamlined – especially for experienced migration agents with good track records.
- Priority processing should be provided to decision-ready visa applications – whether they were submitted by a migration agent or an applicant directly.
The final report of the review was published in December 2008, and listed 57 recommendations for reform.
Appendix 11: Office of the MARA publications
These publications were cited in the body of this annual report.
Title of publication |
Website location |
2007–08 Review of Statutory Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Profession: Final Report |
www.mara.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/327/2007-08- |
Applicants for registration: Search function to find details of applicants for registration as migration agents |
www.mara.gov.au/applicant/Applicant |
Client Service Charter |
|
Communications Strategy |
www.mara.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/327/ |
Complaints management processes |
www.mara.gov.au/Consumer-Information/Making-a- |
Compliments and complaints: process and form |
www.mara.gov.au/About-Us/Compliments-and- |
Find Agents: Search function to find details of registered migration agents |
|
Information for consumers |
www.mara.gov.au/Consumer-Information/default.aspx |
Migration agents Code of Conduct |
www.mara.gov.au/Agent-Information/Code-of |
Office of the MARA Information Sheets |
|
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority Policy and Procedures Manual (PPM) |
www.mara.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/327/ |
Protocol Document |
www.mara.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/327/protocol-document.pdf.aspx |
Probity Statement |
www.mara.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/887/probity-statement.pdf.aspx |
Sanctioned agents: Search function to find details of registration as migration agents who were subject to sanction decisions |
Appendix 12: Correction of material errors
Prior to 1 July 2009 the Migration Agents Registration Authority was administered by the MIA under a statutory self-regulation scheme from March 1998 to June 2009. The MARA Annual Report 2008–09 was published by the MIA which detailed information regarding the activities during the 2008–09 program year.
During 2009–10 the Office of the MARA made changes in the recording of complaints in order to improve data integrity. This impacted on the number of complaints and the associated percentages reported in 2008–09.
For more information on data integrity and the how the change affects the comparison of previously reported figures, refer to Data integrity.